The Bar
by whirrledpeas
Summary: Arizona and her brother Joe own a bar in downtown Seattle, where Callie and her band have scored a few gigs. Slowly, Arizona manages to befriend, and fall in love with, the guarded Latina. However, it seems to be unrequited love. A/U with canon.
1. Chapter 1

The brunette peeked through her heavy eyelids and looked at the clock beside her bed. 6:15. She reclosed her eyes, shot them open, muttered a 'shit!' and then quickly jumped out of her bed. She found a pair of jeans lying on the floor and, with her smell of approval, pulled them on. Fumbling through her drawers for a decent shirt, she did the same. Callie Torres had overslept once again.

Nevermind her teeth or hair. She grabbed a pair of flip-flops, her keys and wallet, and dashed out of her apartment and to her car. Callie zipped rudely and hurriedly through the streets of downtown Seattle, running only two red lights and cutting almost everyone off. When she reached Joe's Pub, she double-parked her green '89 Lebaron convertible out front, grabbed her guitar from the back and rushed inside.

She found her band mates in the back of the bar, setting up their equipment. She scurried over to them to help. "Hey guys. Sorry I'm late."

"Callie," a young guy said, looking at the bar clock and noticing the brunette's tired eyes. "I don't understand how you can oversleep for a seven o'clock p.m. show."

"I, uh, I had some things to do earlier in the day," She tried to skirt around it as the band members rolled their eyes. "I'm sorry, Alex." She smiled. "I'll make it up to you later, okay?"

He planted a rough kiss on her. "Sounds fair enough, babe. But please stop being late."

"Done."

"I mean it."

"Okay, okaaay! Geez."

Callie and Alex Karev had been dating for a year when the struggling couple had decided to take their stab at being musicians. The brunette was decent on the guitar but had a killer voice and Alex played the drums. They eventually enlisted two other guitarists to join the band. George played bass and Jackson played lead. That had been a year ago and the band hadn't gotten far in the world of music since. Dive bars and pubs were the extent of the venues they played. And at $200 a gig, the semi-cover band was far from making it.

After they were done setting up, the foursome took seats at the bar to enjoy a drink before their show. The blonde bartender, clad in dark blue jeans and a black tank top, who had been chatting with a few guests at the end noticed the new patrons and walked over. She placed napkins in front of each of them and smiled. "What can I get for you gentlemen," she looked at Callie. "and lady?"

"What do you have on tap?" Jackson asked.

The blonde flirted with a smile as she wiped her hands on the towel hanging out of her back pocket. "Whatever is behind me." She said, moving a little to the left so he could see.

"I'll take a #9."

"Ooh, Magic Hat. Nice taste." She scooted a little to the left. "And for you?"

"The same." George replied.

"Me too." Alex said.

The blonde shifted her eyes to the brunette. "And for you, miss?"

"Yea, I'll have whatever they're having." Callie said, paying the bartender no mind as she played with her phone.

"Alright then." The blonde said as she turned to the tap bar and began pouring their beer. A minute later, she rested their glasses on the napkins in front of them, finishing with Callie's. She smiled at the group. "I'm Arizona. Let me know if you guys need anything else." She finished with a wink and disappeared to the other end of the bar.

The foursome chatted over their drinks, finishing quickly to begin their set. As they situated on stage, the blonde bartender cleared their glasses and took a spot at the end of the bar to watch. Her co-tender joined her to catch the first song. Arizona nodded with her head at the group on stage. "Who's the band?" she asked, noticing the members who had just been sitting in front of her.

"Some group Joe found. Local, kinda okay. I heard they suck." He laughed.

"Derek, give them a chance. You never know."

The group opened with a watered-down version of Brown-Eyed Girl. Arizona squinched a bit as she listened to the music. "Oof, okay, you're right, Derek."

"They suck?"

"Well," she grabbed a bottle and took a sip of water. "She doesn't. She's actually really good." She said as she pointed to Callie, who was singing.

"You just think she's hot, Robbins."

"Maybe a little," she laughed. "Whatever, Derek. Come on, help me with these," she said, patting a rack of glasses that needed to go to the kitchen. The blonde stole another glance of Callie before she joined him, humming along the way.

The next time the blonde bartender saw Callie, it was about two months later and under the same circumstances. Joe had needed live music to book at the last minute and they were the only band available. In between the two gigs, the band had played small shows here and there to make a few bucks, but they hadn't found their muse, their chemistry, or their way. And it definitely showed in their sets that night. Co-workers Arizona and Derek looked on with polite faces during the show, bobbing their heads with the music as they tended bar.

After the last set, Callie and her bandmates grabbed seats at the bar. Arizona flashed her dimpled smile to them. "Heya guys. Nice to see you again." She said, looking between the foursome as she placed napkins down on the hickory countertop. "What are we having tonight?"

Callie looked to the blonde and replied sarcastically. "How 'bout a round of rhythm, for these two," she said pointing between George and Jackson. "and a shot of originality for this one." she pointed at Alex before slumping down in her stool. She sat back up and looked up at the bartender. "I'll have whatever their having, I guess."

Alex looked at Arizona with an irritated face. "She'll have a beer. We'll all have a beer." Arizona lifted her eyebrows without a smile and turned around to the taps. She saw Alex grab Callie's arm in the corner of her eye. "Don't talk to us like that in front of people, Torres. You make me look like an idiot."

"Well, sometimes you **are** an idiot, Alex."

Arizona poured the beers slowly as she continued to eavesdrop. "You know what? Nothing is ever good enough for you, Callie. It's always 'we suck' this and 'let's do this instead' that."

"Alex, we do suck!" Callie retorted. "We make nothing, we write nothing. The only reason we got this gig was because everyone else was booked. I'm tired of this. If we aren't good, which we aren't, we need to do something else. We're broke and-"

Alex leaned into Callie, still gripping her arm. "You aren't homeless because of me. What few things you have, are because of me." The brunette stared off into space and nodded. "I know, Alex. And I'm grateful for that. But-"

Callie was cut off by Alex. "But noth-"

Arizona re-interrupted him as she turned around to deliver drinks. "But we're gonna all have a good time tonight." She sat pints of beer down in front of the guys. She turned around and grabbed Callie's drink and set it in front of the brunette.

The Latina noticed the glass in front of her as the bartender smiled. "You look like you are a wine kind of gal. And that's on me." Arizona winked at the brunette before turning to the guys, Alex in particular. "No arguing at my bar, lovies. Only smiles and good times. Sound good?" They nodded.

Before Arizona walked away, Callie smiled and muttered. "Thanks."

They enjoyed two more rounds of drinks, in silence, before excusing themselves from the bar. They packed up their equipment and left the building at just past one a.m. Outside, Callie stuffed her guitar into the back seat of her car. She closed the door and walked over to the Alex, who was helping George and Jackson load the last of the amps into George's van. "Hey," she said looking at her boyfriend. "So, I'll see you at home?"

"No, Callie, you won't."

The brunette furrowed her eyebrows with confusion. "Wha- what do you mean?"

Alex wasn't angry, but he wasn't being nice either. "Callie, I dig you - you know that. But I want to play music. Maybe we suck, but I want to do this and this is my life too. It's not just yours."

"Alex,"

"Callie, you want to go do better things? Then go. I'm not stopping you and I sure as hell am not going to be with you if you're not in this 100% with us."

"Us, meaning the band?"

"Something like that."

"So what, you were only with me because of the band? Because I can sing halfway decent?"\

"Well, that. And you're fun in bed." He gave her his best asshole smirk to date.

Callie could not believe what she was hearing. "Fuck you, Alex." She shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe that after all of this time together, all you care about is this silly little band we have that is going nowhere. And you obviously care about it more than you ever cared about me."

Jackson stepped in. "Hey guys, stop it." he said, used to Alex and Callie's fights.

George chimed in as well. "Yeah, let's just go back to my place and smoke a bowl. It'll be fun!" He tried to brighten the situation. Alex looked at them and then back to the Latina. "No, not this time guys. I'm done, Callie. You go on and do what you want. Do whatever, I don't care." He walked away, got into the passenger's side of the van and shut the door.

The brunette walked up to the window and stood, looking for an answer. He rolled it down. "What?"

"So that's it?" she asked.

"Yes Callie, that's it. Come get your stuff tomorrow. I'll be out."

Seeing in his eyes that he cared so little, Callie let a few tears creep out of her eyelids. She looked a George and Jackson, who both offered her a silent, sympathetic glare. Callie backed up from Alex's side of the van as it pulled off, letting her tears fall freely as she took a seat on the street curb.

Fifteen minutes later, she picked herself up and walked to her car. Leaning on the back of her Lebaron, she pulled her phone from her pocket and texted the only person she trusted.

_Addi, in a rough spot. Can I crash with you tonight?  
><em>  
>Two minutes later, she receives an affirmative reply. She climbed into her car, wiped a few fresh tears from her eyes, and turned the key. Nothing. She patted her dashboard. "Oh, no no no. Come on, baby." she said, sweet-talking her beater. Callie turned her keys a few more times before giving up. She pushed herself back into her seat forcefully, looked up into the sky, and pleaded. "Really?"<p>

Frustrated, she opened her glove box and pulled an emergency pack of smokes from it. The Latina got out of her car and sat down against the outside wall of Joe's Pub. She lit a cigarette and inhaled it sharply as she shook her head. "Fuck me," she muttered to herself as her mind began to wander.

A few minutes later, her thoughts were interrupted by the door next to her opening. Derek and Arizona walked out. The blonde noticed Callie sitting on the sidewalk and motioned to her friend to go on without her before she walked up to the brunette. "You okay?" she asked hesitantly.  
>Callie nodded without looking at the girl standing above her.<p>

Arizona looked around. "Are you here alone?" The brunette nodded again, fresh tears falling from her eyes.

The blonde knelt down to Callie and wiped her tears. "Hey, whatever it is, it'll be alright."

Callie nodded without looking at Arizona. "Perhaps."

"Do you need anything?"

The Latina, for the first time, looked the blonde in the eyes and noticed her kindness. "My car won't start. Maybe a ride to my friend's house - if it's not too much trouble?"

Arizona stood up and extended her hand to pull Callie up. "Sure thing."

The two girls got into Arizona's Jetta. After buckling up, the blonde turned to Callie with a smile. "Okay, where to?"

"Everette, just outside of the city. Highway is the fastest."

Arizona nodded and put her car in drive. "Alright, to Everette we go."

Twenty five minutes and some small-talk later, the girls pulled up to Addison's house. Callie freed her seatbelt from the latch before turning to Arizona. "Thank you so much. I really appreciate this."

The blonde flashed a small smile. "It's no problem at all, really."

Callie got out or the car and started to walk away. Before she was too far, she heard Arizona call her name. The brunette turned around and walked back to the car. "Calliope, if you ever need anything," She handed Callie a piece of paper with her number on it. "just call me - or come by the bar."

The brunette took the paper and question filled her eyes. "Wait, how do you know my name like that?"

Arizona smiled. "I asked around."

Callie stuffed the paper into her back pocket as she watched the blonde pull off into the night. Turning, she walked towards Addison's house, happy that in the mess of a night she had had - it seemed she had made a new friend.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

After that night, Callie never saw Alex Karev again. She learned through George and Jackson, who she remained in contact with, that Alex had gotten too big for his britches, quit the band, and moved to L.A. For the first couple of months, she had bunked down in Addison's spare bedroom. The brunette worked odd jobs here and there to pay rent and the few bills she had, but she was barely scraping by. Barely, as in she feasted on ramen every night.

As life goes, Addison's house gradually became too small for the both she and Callie and the brunette moved on. She crashed between friends' couches for the next few weeks, staying long enough to have fun, but not so long that she wore out her welcome. Out of the blue, sometime in the middle of May, she received a call from her former band mate.

"Hello?"

"Callie Torres, how are you?"

"George! Oh my god, it's been forever! How are you, guy?"

"I'm good, Callie. Real good. Jackson and I are still playing. We found a new lead and singer. That's actually why I'm calling."

"Oh yeah?" The brunette asked.

"Yeah, we actually have a lil' gig tonight at that bar in downtown we used to play at. Joe's Pub. Remember it?"

Callie smiled, thinking of good times with her old band. "I do. When ya playing?"

"Tonight actually. 8 p.m. I was thinking maybe you could stop by and see us? Give us good juju?"

The brunette looked at her watch. 6:20. "Yeah, I think I can make it. I'm downtown anyway and it will be great to see you two."

"Yes, it will. Alright then, I'll tell Jackson you can make. See you later, Callie!"

"Sounds good. See you then."

Callie was excited to see her old friends. It hadn't been years since she had seen them, but it had definitely felt like it. She finished the cup of coffee she had been enjoying at her friend's house and hopped in the shower to get ready. Two and a half hours later, and predictably late, she walked into Joe's as the band was wrapping up their first set.

She took a seat at the familiar bar and waited as they chatted with the small crowd for a few minutes. Callie removed her black leather jacket and set it on the seats next to her to reserve them for George and the others for their break. She missed her days with the band and the dumb groupies that had come with it. The brunette looked on at George and Jackson making friends with the crowd. "Calliope, this is a pleasant surprise."

Callie was startled from her thoughts as she looked up to the bartender in front of her. "Oh, hey." She muttered with a friendly smile.

"Hey yourself." The blonde replied. "No more band for you?" She asked, nodding in the direction of the band.

"Nope, no more band for me." Callie shrugged and looked in the same direction. "It was fun and I miss it." The brunette turned to Arizona. "but I want to do other things." She smiled. "I think I do anyway."

"I gotcha." The blonde said with a smirk before resting her elbows on the bar in front of Callie. "So how are you? Can I get you something to drink?"

Callie leaned on the bar to look at the offerings. Arizona caught of whiff of the brunette's musky, patchouli scent. Yum. Arizona thought to herself as she eyed the girl. "You know what? I'll have a glass of that wine you poured me last time."

The blonde bartender was pulled from her trance by Callie's words. She nodded to the Latina with a smile. "Alright then."

Arizona set an empty glass in from of Callie and spoke as she poured. "So, Calliope. How is everything going? You never called, so I figured everything was okay."

The brunette took a sip of her wine and smirked. "You know, usually when someone doesn't call, that means something is not okay."

The blonde wiped her hands on a towel and threw it aside. "Well, I'm an optimist. I was hoping to hear from you, though. So I'm glad you dropped by tonight." The blonde smiled.

"Yeah yeah, me too. I came to see the guys play." Callie pointed in the direction of her old band mates. "And thanks, again, by the way, for taking me to Addison's that night. I would have been shit out of luck had you not been around." Always reserved, Callie chose her next words carefully. "You're good people, Arizona."

The blonde took it as a compliment. "Well thanks. You're good people too, Calliope."

Callie chatted it up with George and Jackson, as well as the boy's new lead singer, Isobel. After the band was packed up, the foursome grabbed seats at the main bar to wind down. The winding down led to the group losing count of their drinks after round six. After the rest of the patrons left, barkeeps Arizona and Derek locked the doors and offered for them to stay and continue their lush party while they cleaned up. When they were done, the each grabbed a drink and talked between the others from behind the bar.

"Hey man, I'm Derek." The wavy-haired man said, extending his hand to George and then to Jackson. Arizona made small talk with the girls in front of her, noticing Callie's uneasiness with the new girl member of the band.

Two rounds later, at 3:30 a.m., Arizona cleared everyone's empty glasses and spoke up. "So," she said, throwing her bar towel in the laundry bin. "I have an idea. Why don't we grab our things and go hang out at my place." She grabbed her purse and keys and pointed with a smile. "It's just across the street."

Callie and the rest of her friends looked between each other and shrugged. "You sure, Arizona?" Callie asked.

"Of course, Derek and I usually hang out there after work anyway. If you guys aren't doing anything, you should come."

George shook his head. "Okay, alright then."

The others nodded affirmatively. "Let's go."

Five minutes later, everyone was on the balcony of Arizona's loft across the street with drinks in hand. Derek and Jackson talked sports while the others chatted about life, love, and Seattle, among other random things. Callie hopped up drunkenly. "Oohh, I gotta pee."

Arizona popped up as well and opened the screen door to go inside. "I'll show you." She smiled. "I need another drink anyway."

Arizona showed Callie around the small apartment and pointed the way to the bathroom. "I'm going to grab us a drink, I'll be in the kitchen."

Callie nodded tipsily and skipped to the loo and closed the door. A few minutes later she met the blonde in the kitchen. "Oooh, nachos!" Callie said excitedly with a few claps as Arizona pulled a large plate from the oven.

"Thought we could use some food." She smiled. It's almost breakfast time for most of the world, anyway."

The Latina looked around. "Your place is really nice, Arizona. I need to get on my feet so I can have a place of my own like this." She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jeans and nodded. "Yes, definitely."

Arizona spoke up as she poured each of them a fresh glass of wine. "Well, if you ever need anything, you know where to find me. We're here after work almost every night."

"So, you and Derek - you guys are a couple? He's cuuute, Arizona."

"Oh, Derek?" the blonde giggled. "Oh no, he's not my type. The facial hair thing just kinda is, eew."

"Yeah, I always hated it when Alex forgot to shave." Callie said, oblivious.

"Yes, that. And the whole penis thing too. Just, eew."

Callie took a moment for it to register. "Ohhhhh. Oh, right." She motioned with her hand like she knew all along. "Wow, well, so you are, what?"

Arizona turned her head a little to the side waiting for Callie to say it but finished for her as she smirked. "Gay?"

"Yeah, so you're gay?"

The blonde squinted through a smile. "Yes, I am." She didn't want to make it an issue. She grabbed her glass of wine and the bottle. "Come on, Calliope. Let's go see what the boys are doing."

"And Isobel." Callie spoke up. "She's not a boy."

Arizona turned around to whisper before she opened the door. "I know, but I don't like her much."

"Hahe, I like you." Callie said. "Cause I don't like her either."

For the next few weeks, Callie settled into a semi-regular routine of meeting the guys at Joe's to support their Friday night gigs. She would sit at the bar and chat with Arizona and Derek while she listened to the band. Between set breaks, they would all huddle at the bar to chat and catch up with one another over a rushed drink here and there. And at the end of the nights, the four would close the bar while Derek and Arizona cleaned up only to move the drinking to across the street in Arizona's apartment.

It was July. This particular Friday night was hot and muggy. Well, for Seattle anyway. Arizona turned the key to her door and lets the others in. Closing the door behind her, she threw her keys on the table beside the door and slipped off her beer-stenched tennis shoes. "Derek," she called down the hall to her co-worker, who was taking a piss in the bathroom. "Towels are in there, can you grab a bunch for us?"

"Sure thing, Robbins!"

"Calliope, there's a cooler bag thingy under the sink," Arizona said as she began raiding her refrigerator. "Could you grab it for me?"

"No problem." She rummaged through the cabinet space, found the bag and set it down on the kitchen floor next to Arizona, who began filling it with beer, wine, and food. Derek emerged from down the hall with a stack of towels. He handed one to George, Jackson and Izzy. "You guys ready?" he asked. With nods all around, they were set.

Arizona's building had a roof-top pool that no one used in the middle of the night, it seemed - even on a hot, July night. The blonde had never understood this and always chalked it up to it she and Derek being on a shift opposite of the rest of the world. She didn't mind. Having access to a pool in the dead of night with no one around was never anything she would complain about.

They set down their towels and each grabbed a beer, with the exception of Callie and Arizona, who took turns sipping wine from an over-sized bottle of Alice White. Callie admired the Seattle skyline and the stars above that she couldn't see, but knew were there. After a couple of rounds of drinks, Derek and the guys decided to go in for a dip. The girls hung back for a bit and chatted, enjoying the breeze the rooftop offered.

After a while, the alcohol began to set in for Callie. She had been drinking all night, she was heavily tipsy and now she was hot. She wiped a few beads of sweat from her forehead before standing up. "I think I'm gonna jump in for a few."

Arizona nodded. "I'll be in in a bit."

"Me too!" Izzy replied.

Callie stripped down to her bra and panties. She hadn't planned on swimming so she didn't have a suit with her but she sure as hell wasn't going to swim in jeans. She also wasn't going to swim in the buff either. The Latina threw her clothes on a chair and walked towards the side of the pool. Arizona couldn't help but steal a glance of the brunette's behind. Between quick sips of wine, she also took a look at her legs, her curves, and her in general.

"And then he told me he wanted to throw me up against a wall and tongue me! I mean, like, really - who says that?"

Arizona was jolted from the stare she hadn't known she was holding by Izzie's talk about some guy. Arizona nodded and took another sip of wine before she cut the other blonde off. "How bout we join the rest of them." She said, standing up. "It's hot, don't you think?"

The two remaining girls hopped in the pool in their underwear to discover everyone else playing a drunken round of Marco Polo. Eventually, everyone settled in and grouped off to different parts of the pool with new drinks in hand. Jackson and Derek sat on the diving board talking golf while Izzie enjoyed George's company just beside them in the deep end. Callie and Arizona sat on shallow steps of the opposite side of the pool. Passing the wine between them, they talked.

"So, Calliope. How's the new job?"

Arizona was referring to Callie's recent stint at Capital One's new call center that had just opened up in downtown. "It's good. You know, it's a paycheck."

The blonde nodded and passed the bottle of wine to Callie. "But not what you want to be doing?"

Callie hesitated, but then nodded. She was a reserved person and didn't open up to people, but over the past few weeks, she had begun to warm up to Arizona. She nodded. "Not really, but maybe I'll figure it all out one day."

The blonde smiled. "I'm sure you will. You could do anything you want. I can tell, you have it in you."

"What in me?"

"The drive, the passion." Arizona temporarily side-stepped the conversation with thoughts of what passion with Callie would be like in the bedroom, but quickly brought herself back. "You know, passion to do what you want." She cleared her throat, trying to hide the blush her cheeks were holding. "in life."

Callie smiled back, oblivious to the blonde's expressions. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

A few minutes later, they were interrupted by George and Jackson, swimming up to them hurriedly. Jackson stood up in the water and nudged George. "You are such the chicken shit, you so won't do it."

George looked at Callie, to Jackson, and then back to the brunette. He kneeled down in the water and glided up to the Latina and smiled. Slowly, he closed the gap between them and met lips with Callie in a soft kiss.

Jackson screamed back to Derek. "Dude, he did it. George isn't a chicken shit after all!"

The drunkeness took over as Callie deepened the kiss, grateful for human contact. It had been months since she had been with Alex and it felt good. It was George, but it felt strangely good. Moans between the kisses began. Arizona giggled and slowly got up from the stairs and walked out of the pool. She grabbed a towel and wrapped herself in it before settling into a chair next to the others, who had already gotten out of the pool. She, along with the others, watched the awkward make-out session between George and Callie.

The blonde was half-way amused by the lack of gracefulness in their public display of affection, and half-way wishing she were the one Callie was being ungraceful with. '_Ahh, such is life'_, the blonde though as she cracked open a beer and took a swig.


	3. Chapter 3

After that night, Callie and George began dating. As she didn't really have a place of her own, the brunette moved in with he and Jackson in their small downtown apartment. It was efficiency and all they could afford, so it was small and cramped. Callie and George bunked down in the small bedroom space in the back and Jackson crashed on the couch. It wasn't romantic or ideal, but it was theirs.

Callie still hated her job at Capital One, but it was a steady, though relatively small, paycheck that helped pay bills as George relied solely on the income from the band. The band still wasn't the best, but with Alex gone and Izzy on board, they were doing a little better than before. They lived off of ramen noodles and love - and it was enough for them. Callie had stayed in touch with Arizona, dropping by the bar here and there to grab lunch or to watch the guys play the occasional gig. But with her job and new-found relationship, she hadn't seen the blonde much as she had before.

Arizona was surprised at the news that Callie and George had taken their relationship with each other further than their make-out session in the pool. The blonde had concluded that about 46 percent of it was because she was crushing on the Latina. The other fifty-some was because it just didn't make sense to her. Still, she found them both to be good people and couldn't find a decent enough reason to be unhappy for them.

It was September and fall was beginning to settle in on Seattle. Callie signed out of her phone at work, grabbed her jacket and took the elevator down to the lobby. When she exited the building, she found George waiting for her with flowers. She smiled brightly as she walked up to him.

"Hey you!" She wrapped him into a tight hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I had some free time and the weather is nice, so I thought I would come see you." He said as he handed a small bouquet of flowers to the Latina.

Callie kissed him on the cheek and inhaled the fragrance of the flowers. It seemed most guys always thought a girl loved roses and George was no different. Secretly, Callie hated roses. To her, they were too cliché' - too unoriginal. Secretly, she loved lilies. But still, the gesture was a nice change from the way she had been treated in recent years and she appreciated having a nice guy for once. She looked back at George with a toothy smile. "Thank you."

George nodded a 'welcome' and grinned. "So, I thought maybe we could do dinner together tonight. Just you and me?"

In the few months that the couple had been together, they had not had many proper dates, or dinners. They had grown accustomed to their opposite work schedules and when they did get to enjoy dinners together, they usually included Jackson.

"That sounds perfect." Callie said as she linked her arm with George's and walked to his car that was parked out front. He opened the passenger's side door for Callie and she settle into her seat, noticing a basket sitting on the back seat.

They drove aimlessly around Seattle, finally settling on a small spot in Seward Park. Beneath the trees and right by the water, they sat on a small blanket and nibbled on food and sipped on wine as they enjoyed the sunset together. After they were done with dinner, they continued to enjoy each other on a walk in the park. They caught each other up on their day as dusk began to roll in. George found a vacant bench chair and sat Callie down. He bent down to kiss her and stood back up with a smile. "I love you, Callie Torres."

"Really?"

He knelt down and pulled a black, velvet box from his coat pocket. "Really." Taking the small ring from its holding and placing it on the brunette's finger, he asked, "Will you marry me?"

Callie cocked her head to the left to admire the ring and the looked at George. "Of course I will."

They met in an embrace and, on the waterfront, enjoyed being in each other's arms. Breaking the kiss, Callie backed away. '"Adios mio, we need to tell people."

George giggled. "Like who?"

"I dunno, Jackson? "

"He already knows."

"Oh okay, well I gotta tell Addison and - ooh, Arizona!" Callie pulled her phone from her pocket, flipped it open and texted.

_Hey, you at work tonight?  
><em>  
>In the meantime, she placed a successful call to Addison and told her the news. "I know, I know! Addy, you will be my maid of honor, yeah?"<p>

They talked for another five minutes or so before Callie felt her phone vibrate. Walking with George back to their picnic area, she stopped Addison short. "Ooh, Addison, I gotta go, talk to you soon." She ended the call without waiting for a goodbye and scrolled to her text messages, one of which was from Arizona.

_I'm always here, girl. Don't you know that by now?  
><em>  
>Callie didn't reply, but asked George if they could swing by Joe's on the way home to share the news. A yes was in order and after packing up their small picnic, they were en route to the bar fifteen minutes later. After parking and kisses and more 'I love you's', they went inside to meet Jackson and Izzy, who had been waiting with congratulatory drinks.<p>

Callie and George joined the duo at the bar and were greeted by Arizona, clad in jeans and her signature tank - today it was royal blue. She stuffed her bar towel in her back pocket and threw her elbows on the bar to lean in for a chat. "How ya been, guys?" She pad attention to Callie in particular.

She received 'goods' all around until the Latina spoke up, holding up her left hand in excitement. "We're engaged! I wanted to come by to tell you."

Arizona defeatedly smiled, but offered her congratulations. "Oh that's great! Lemme get you guys a drink, on us. To celebrate."

The blonde took their orders and turned away around to begin pouring. As she did, she met Derek, who was doing the same for his customers. "How ya doing, Robbins?"

She wiped the sweat from her head with her forearm and gave him a quick glance and a crooked smile. "I'm good."

Honestly, Arizona was a wee jealous of George O'Malley at that very moment, but she was also secretly very happy for her friend as she seemed to have a smile again.

But Callie and George fell into the routine that new couples always seems to fall into. Though it was unintentional, Callie saw less of her friends, including Arizona, and spent most of her free time, if not all, with George. He and his band were growing more popular with the underground music scene in Seattle, so she followed them from gig to gig to support them. But since they were getting better, they rarely played Joe's as time went on.

Instead of a traditional wedding, which is what Calliope and her family had been planning, the two went to Vegas on a whim and got married. Some drunk couple they had met at a craps table at the Bellagio had been their witnesses. Quick, to the point, and not romantic at all. It had surprised everyone when they shared the news, especially the Latina's family. And Arizona had found out by way of a text message that had included a cheesy picture of them in tacky outfits in front of an even cheesier, fake beach background. Attached to the picture had been a message that read, '_Married woman now - wish you could have been here. Miss ya!'_

And Arizona had wished she had been there. She hadn't seen her brunette friend in ages.

She and Callie kept in touch here and there, through text messages and the occasional lunch. Summer swims the following year at Arizona's pad were few and far between as time went on and people became settled in their own lives. The band kept going and the bar kept going. Callie and George tried to do the same, but in the end, it just hadn't worked out.

Callie didn't bother texting Arizona that night - she knew she would be at the bar. Racing through the downtown streets of Seattle with tears hindering the view in front of her, she found her way, somehow, to Joe's. She parked illegally and looked at her watch as she walked in, not really caring what time it was. 12:49.

The Latina avoided any stare that came her way as she walked in. Some band, much like the one George and Jackson had, was playing on the stage to the right. The bar was full, crowded, and loud. She didn't care. Callie walked up to the bar, nudged her way in somehow and waited for Arizona, who she knew would be tending tonight. After five minutes, the blonde appeared from the back and immediately noticed her.

"Calliope," The blonde said excitedly, but then cut her own self short as she noticed the demeanor of the brunette. "What's wrong?"

Callie bounced up and down, wanting to talk, wanting to cry, wanting to let go, but knew she couldn't right here in front of everyone. She winced, shook her head and simply muttered, "I, uh, I didn't know where else to come."

Arizona threw the bar rag hanging from her pocket into the linen basket and approached Derek, She pleaded a few words to he and Joe and with their nods, she ducked from behind the bar and walked up to Callie. "Come on," Arizona said, taking Callie by the arm with two fresh beers in her free hand. Moving through the crowd, the blonde found them a spot in the back by the wall and away from the madness that was in the bar tonight. She hugged her friend before they sat down across from each other.

"Calliope, what is it?"

The brunette just started crying, fiddling with the beer in her hands in front of her.  
>Arizona tried again, placing a hand on Callie's for reassurance. "You can talk to me."<p>

Callie shook her head with frustration. "Everything." She wiped tears from her eyes. "George, my life, my family. All of it."

Arizona cocked her head helplessly and took a seat to the Latina in the booth. "What happened?"

Callie told Arizona about George cheating on her with Izzy, the other girl from the band. She told her about her Catholic family and how wrong it was, in their eyes, to ever be divorced, no matter what the circumstances. She told her how they though she was supposed to work it out with someone she could no longer trust. How she hated her job, how she felt stuck. Callie told Arizona about how much, at this moment, she hated her life.

The blonde listened on and they talked as the bar began to dwindle down to just a few people.

"I loved George. I still do. But this thing, I can't get over. And I didn't know where else to go." Callie started crying again. "I have nowhere to go, Arizona. I don't know what I'm doing with my life. I wanna be someone. I wanna be something."

Arizona comforted her friend in a hug and then pulled away. "Okay, Calliope Torres, what do you wanna be?"

Callie wiped her tears and let a small laugh out. "I don't know."

"Well sure you do. If you could do anything you wanted to in life - be anything you wanna be, what would it be?"

The brunette thought for a minute as she sipped a beer Derek had recently replenished. For the first time tonight, she wasn't thinking about George, or his infidelities. "I've always wanted to be a doctor."

"Alright then, so you'll be a doctor."

"What? Arizona - I'm like 25 and have pretty much no college background. It would take forever."

"So? If it's what you wanna do, what does it matter how long it would take?"

"I couldn't pay for it."

"Student loans."

"And I have nowhere to go." The brunette sipped her beer. "My family will disown me once I'm divorced, which is what I want to do. I can't live like that. So I can't go home, Arizona."

"You can stay with me."

Callie widened her eyes at the blonde. "No, I couldn't do that."

"Well, why not? Come on, Calliope, you've seen my flat - it's way too big for just little 'ol me."

"I wouldn't want to impose."

"Never." Arizona put her arm around her friend. "And from now on, this booth is reserved solely for you, to study. Ya know, when you don't wanna be cooped up at the apartment."

"You can't just reserve tables like that, Arizona."

"Pssh, Sure I can - Joe is my big brother. And he loves me."

Callie simply nodded. "Thank you, Arizona."

"So it's settled, then? We'll get you enrolled and on your way to becoming an M.D. and you'll bunk with me for as long as you need."

"Why are you doing this for me?"

Arizona looked at the brunette honestly. "Because you are a good person. And you deserve good." Callie simply nodded and hugged her friend.

They sat for the better part of the night as the rest of the staff closed down the bar. The two girls talked about life, about plans, and about themselves, finally getting to know each other a little better. And when Callie went to sleep that night, her mind was not dwelling on the infidelities from George, but on her own future and her new place she would call home. Tomorrow would be a better day.


	4. Chapter 4

That fall, with the help of Arizona, Callie enrolled in school. Her parents had indeed cut her off financially, so she took out loans to pay for everything. She worked part-time at Joe's on the weekends alongside Derek and Arizona to help them with the busy shifts and with the little spare time that she found, she taught herself how to cook.

When she had first moved into Arizona's apartment, she had very little money, but Arizona had taken her shopping to get some things for her room among other necessities that she needed. Callie, at first, had been hesitant to accept the good deeds from the blonde, but she gradually came to appreciate them genuinely. Now that she was getting on her feet, she repaid her roommate with 3 a.m. dinners after they got home from work.

Arizona didn't have any family and Callie's didn't want her around, so they spent the holidays together. They enjoyed Thanksgiving at Joe's and Christmas at the apartment with Derek and a few other guests. They even had their own tree that they had bought from a downtown tree vendor. New Years' Eve, of course was spent working, but they still had fun. They watched old Grace Kelley movies on the couch for Valentine's Day and hid eggs inside of the apartment for Easter. And in between, they had the occasional midnight swim telling secrets and sharing their lives with one another. Callie and Arizona had become best friends.

Throughout the years of Callie's undergrad stint, Arizona would help her study at home and on her breaks at the bar. As promised, the back corner booth had been reserved for the brunette for her study sessions. It had been hard for her at first since it had been so long since she had been in school, but with the help around her, she was able to ease back in with only a few hiccups along the way. Towards the end of her senior year, it started to become real for Callie that she would soon be a college graduate.

On the day of her graduation, Arizona, Derek and Joe had been in the crowd cheering in full-force. Not Alex, who had treated her so badly or George, who had cheated on her. Sadly, not even her father, who had cut her off from her family for not living the life they had wanted. No one that Callie had once counted on so dearly had been there. But the three people she had come to love so much in recent years - the three people that had consistently been there for her - were there. After walking across the stage and being handed her diploma, she found her friends in the audience and smiled, for they were the reason she had been able to do it in the first place.

Later that night, the foursome had celebrated at the bar with rounds on the house from Joe. Callie looked around at her friends with a smile. Four years ago, she had been a wreck. Four years ago, she had no direction, no ambition, no life. Four years was a long time, but they had treated her well.

It had been two weeks since her graduation and Callie was sitting on the floor of she and Arizona's apartment filling out applications for medical school when she heard the knob on the front door turn. The brunette looked up to see her best friend coming in from a late Tuesday night shift at Joe's.

"Hey!" Arizona said as she peeled off her jacket. "How's the school hunt going?"

Callie slumped down in the middle of the floor that was littered in paper. "This is more work than school was!"

Arizona retrieved a bottle of wine and two glasses from the counter and took a seat in the living room across from Callie. After pouring them each a glass, she grabbed an empty application and a pen. "I'll help you."

"You can't do that, Arizona. I have to do it."

"Why?" She sipped from her glass and set it down. "It's not like they know your handwriting."

"True."

"Besides, the sooner you get these done, the sooner we can go swimming. It's a nice night out."

They sat for another half-hour, across from each other filling out Callie's never-ending applications for medical school. Halfway through her third application, Arizona noticed the school. "MCV?" She questioned her best friend.

"It's one of them, yes."

"But Callie, that's in Virginia."

"I know, but I have to apply to a lot to make sure I get in somewhere."

"But, it's Virginia."

Callie looked at Arizona. "My first choice is UW so I can stay here." Arizona nodded as the brunette continued. "I want to stay in Seattle. I mean, free rent, right?"

This made Arizona smile, but only a little. "Calliope Torres, you are not moving to Virginia. Oregon, I can handle. Wait, are there even medical schools in Oregon?" The blonde shook her head. "Doesn't matter. You are getting into UW. End of story."

Arizona got up and offered Callie a hand. "Come on, we're going swimming, Dr. Torres."

"Hey, I'm not a doctor yet."

"Ah, soon enough."

Callie pulled Arizona into a hug. "Thank you. For everything."

The blonde pulled back and smiled. "Don't mention it. You deserve it. Now go get us some towels. The diving board is waiting."

Two weeks later, Callie's eyes rested on the coffee table in front of her that was littered with tri-folded papers. She sat Indian-style on the couch looking between them and the envelope that she held in her hand. She tapped it on the fingertips of her left hand while she thought. Of the eight medical schools that she had applied to, she had so far been accepted to just three. This one, though, was the one she had been waiting for. The coveted University of Washington.

She set the envelope in her lap and leaned over to shuffle the papers on the table together. She thumbed through them and tossed aside the letters of rejection. The remaining three she sat back onto the table in front of her. Placing her feet on the ground and inhaling sharply, she rested her elbows on her knees and slipped her pinky finger inside of the small opening at the corner of the envelope. Callie took a sip of her wine before unfolding the single sheet of paper to read. After releasing a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, she closed her eyes and tossed the letter in the floor with the other rejects as a sadness fell upon her.

Breaking the news to Arizona later that evening, over dinner, had been heartbreaking for the brunette. The closest school that Callie had been accepted to was in Texas. It was far enough away that she had unofficially decided to accept John's Hopkins offer. It was the best choice, for obvious reasons, but Callie was almost mad that she had been accepted to any of them. She would have to move.

Arizona flipped from one letter to another. "You got into Johns Hopkins but not UW?" She asked with question, with sadness.

"Yes," Callie paused to look out at the Atlanta skyline. She had come to love the view from she and Arizona's balcony. She took another bite of her dinner that suddenly tasted like cardboard, and looked back to her best friend. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Calliope." Arizona furrowed her eyebrows with a bit of resentment. "They should be sorry. Dumb UW fools. They are missing out, because you will be an amazing doctor. They are missing out. Yes, they are."

The blonde set the papers on the table and stood up without looking at the brunette. Five minutes later, she returned with a fresh bottle of wine. There was no toasting or happy celebration between the two. After she had downed a glass, Arizona spoke again.

"I'm so happy for you, Calliope." The blonde smiled. "I really am. But you are my best friend and I love you and the thought of you leaving is making me a little sad right now. So tonight, I am going to be selfish, if that's okay. Tomorrow, we will celebrate."

Callie managed a smile. "You and I, we're in the same boat."

Exhausted from the waiting and the rejection and the deciding, Callie retired to bed early. Arizona, instead, opened another bottle of wine and took a seat on the deck of the balcony. She flipped open her phone and called the only person she could talk to right now. Taking a sip of her wine, she waiting for the other line to answer.

"Derek, can you come over?"

Fifteen minutes later, the sliding door next to her opened. Derek shut the door behind him, took off his jacket and took a seat next to his friend. "You never call me over. You okay?"

"Callie's moving."

"She didn't get into UW?"

"No."

Derek dropped his down and hugged his friend. "You have to tell her, Arizona."

"I can't. She's worked so hard for this." She leaned in tighter to his hug. "I can't take this away from her."

"But you can't let her go without her knowing how you feel either."

Sensing he knew what Arizona's next words would be, Derek spoke up again. "It won't complicate things. Arizona, I could almost bet she feels the same way about you."

"You don't know that."

"Not for sure, you are right. But I do know what it's like to think about things that could have been."

Arizona looked up at her friend as he finished. "It's terrible."

The blonde let all of the tears and emotions that she had been holding inside of her since learning of Callie's news earlier go. Four years of love and friendship flashed before her eyes. To make them go away, she squinched her eyelids shut. It only made it worse. She sat up and took a sip from the wine bottle and sobbed to her friend. "It's my fault. I'm the idiot who went and fell in love with my best friend."

Two weeks later, Arizona found herself sitting next to Callie as they both waited for the brunette's seat to be called for boarding. Arizona had purchased a plane ticket just so she could see her best friend off at the gate. The two played Sudoku and did crossword puzzles and laughed to kill time. Arizona had decided the night before that she would not spill her feelings to Callie. Not now. Not yet. Her best friend was moving to an unknown place and reluctant about it to begin with. The last thing she needed was to be thrown a curve ball of emotions and confessions, so Arizona played the friend part and decided to just be there for the Latina. Nothing more. Nothing less.

When Callie's seat was called, they both rose from their seats and walked toward the gate. Callie turned around after handing the ticket to the attendant. She set down her bags. "So I guess this is it?"

Arizona smiled. "For now."

"You'll come visit me?"

"Of course I will. I'll clear some time with Joe and will be out in no time for fun with you."

Callie stepped closer and put her hands on Arizona's shoulders. "Thank you, so much." She grabbed her friend in a tight hug. "For everything."

Arizona returned the hug. "Your room is yours forever." She stepped back from the brunette. "I don't know if you get fall break in med school. But at least for Christmas and stuff - you better be home to spend it with me-us. You know, Joe and Derek and-"

"I will."

"And you better call me. Write. Email. Whatever you can."

"You have my word, you'll be the first."

The attendant behind them cleared her throat, signaling the need for Callie to get on with it. Looking back, the brunette nodded reluctantly. She gave Arizona one last hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Arizona." Callie pulled back. "I really do."

The blonde nodded. "Alright, you gotta go. I, uh, I snuck something into the bag you checked." She smiled widely.

"Did you now? I'll look as soon as I get my bags when I land." Callie threw her carry-on over her shoulder and began walking to the gate. She turned around once more. "I'll miss you, Arizona."

"I'll miss you too." The blonde called back. "You be great!"

Ten minutes later, Arizona was still by the gate, looking out of the large paned windows and to the plane that Callie was now on. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and began a text message to her best friend.

Callie stuffed her small bag beneath her and settled into her seat when she felt the phone on her lap vibrate. She flipped it open to read.

_Have a safe flight and call me  
>when you get in.<br>I'm so proud of you, Calliope._

The brunette shot a quick response to her best friend and stuffed her phone into her bag before buckling up. Nervous, scared, and sad, she overcame it all as the plane took off. A new chapter in her life had begun.


	5. Chapter 5

Callie stood at the baggage claim, watching the conveyer belt slowly turn. The five-hour flight from Seattle had been nerve-wracking for the brunette. Somewhere between the mountains of Colorado and the darkness of Indiana, it had hit Callie, full-force, how alone and on her own she was about to be.

She had put up so many walls during and after her affairs with Alex and George. They had, at the time, turned her to stone. In the aftermath of it, she had no family to support her, emotionally or financially. And just hours ago, she had left behind the only people that had ever truly cared for her unconditionally and without question, without judgment. Derek. Joe. And most of all, Arizona. These were the three who had torn down her walls and had made her whole again. They had allowed her to trust again, they had made her alive again. And now, she was alone again. Standing in the large room and watching strangers go about their lives, Callie Torres could feel herself slowly, but surely, creep back into a protective shell of doubt.

Callie eyed the one, lone suitcase she had checked peek out from around the corner. She grabbed it and made her way down the long hall and out to the main portion of the unfamiliar airport. She decided against taking a taxi and, instead, opted for a rental car to make her trek into the city. After signing a few papers and securing a set of  
>keys, Callie pushed a large glass door to exit Baltimore-Washington International Airport.<p>

Her suitcase clicked behind her on the sidewalk as she breathed in the late-summer air. The sun was setting behind the trees front of her as she walked. It was the first sunset she had seen in years. After unlocking her rental and settling in, Callie pulled her GPS from her bag and set it on the dash. She plugged in the address to her new apartment and started the engine.

"What can I get you?"

"Ahh, where's the love, Arizona?" Henry, a regular at the bar, asked with a smirk. "You know what I drink."

"Oh, right. Scotch. Neat." She sighed. "I'm sorry."

"No worries."

"Gimme two, Henry."

Arizona turned from the patron and snuck a peek from her phone from behind the bar, hoping to see a text from Callie. Nothing. She stuffed her phone back into her pocket and grabbed a bottle from behind the bar and began to pour. After setting the small glass down under a napkin in front of her customer, she turned to her co-tender.

"Der, I'm worried."

Derek wiped some sweat from his forehead and addressed his friend, semi-annoyed. "What's up, Arizona?"

She helped him pour beer for his table as she talked. "Well, Calliope hasn't called. Or texted."

"Maybe she is busy unpacking." He shifted a few beers aside. "Or doesn't have service on her pho-."

"-Or maybe her plane crashed, Derek." Arizona said, cutting him off. She looked around to nowhere as she thought of more hypothetical perils. "She could have been mugged or something." He looked at her and rolled his eyes with a smile.

"Well, you don't know, Derek." She looked down, genuinely concerned.

"I am sure she's fine." He wiped more sweat from his face.

"Could you maybe look at that fancy phone of yours and see if her flight has landed?" She pleaded. "For me?"

Derek sighed. "Take these to table 14 for me and I will. What flight?"

"United 336."

He smiled and nodded to the waiting patrons that Arizona would need to tend to and disappeared to the back of the bar.

Forty minutes later, Callie was unlocking her the door to her apartment. She set her suitcase aside and slowly looked around to the new place she would be calling home. Two weeks earlier, the brunette had stumbled across an online ad for someone in need of a tenant to sublet their apartment. Fully furnished and with utilities included, Callie had wired them a deposit immediately.

The place was small, but more than enough for her. The living room and kitchen decors were semi-modern with a hippie-like touch. The walls were kissed with browns, oranges, and greens. Warm, welcoming, inviting. She peeked her head inside of the blue office that was furnished with a mahogany desk and bookshelves to match. She moved on to the bathroom, which she found to be red, with a claw foot tub and black and white tiled floors. Callie finally landed in the bedroom, which was adorned with light blues and browns and had a balcony off to the right that gave her a perfect view of her new city. The brunette looked around a gave a satisfying nod. Her new pad was, in all respects, comfortable.

Callie returned to the living room to retrieve her two bags and a pack of beer she had bought on the way in. She wheeled them to the back of the apartment and into her bedroom. After cracking open a bottle, she set it on the nightstand, opened her suitcase and began to unpack.

Arizona had spent the last twenty minutes tending the main bar by herself. People were drinking faster than she could pour and sweat was spilling from her face quicker than she could wipe it away. She was writing down another round on Henry's tab when Derek emerged from the back. She quickly forgot the other waiting customers and rushed up to him with questioning eyes. 'Well?"

Derek stuffed his phone into his back pocket and smiled. "Her plan landed an hour ago. No crashes, no mishaps."

Arizona breathed a little relief. "Thank you." She turned to join Derek at the bar with the thirsty folks. They talked over the orders of the crowd.

"I'm sure nothing happened, Arizona."

"I know, I just worry. A lot."

"You worry about her, a lot."

The turned their backs to pour and tab people out. "Well, yeah." Arizona flipped her hair out of her face. "She's all alone, Derek."

"I know."

"I dunno, I just thought," Arizona punched in numbers on the register as she talked. "I guess I thought she would call me or text me the minute she could." She totaled out the tab and ripped off the receipt. "Ya know, just to say hi."

She handed the slip and a pen to Henry as Derek shoved three pints of beer in front of a guy next to him. "Arizona, that is what you would do. Because you love Callie." They continued to work furiously to get themselves out of the weeds, but continued their banter just the same.

"Well even if she doesn't love me, you know, like that - I'm still her best friend. I would have called by now. Or texted." She hung her head. "Or something."

Derek turned to his friend and put his hands on his shoulders, sensing she needed a little comfort. He let his eyes connect with hers. "There are a million reasons why Callie hasn't texted by now." He saw concern flash across the blonde's face. "All of which are non-life threatening."

The fear dissolved from Arizona's face as he continued. "But not loving you is none of those reasons. I promise."

The blonde nodded with a smile. "I know. I just miss her."

"You'll hear from Torres before the night is over, kid." He turned to the chaos in front of them. "Let's get through the next two hours and we'll head to your pad for some drinks. Deal?"

"Okaaaay, deal."

Callie finished stuffing the last of her clothes into the dresser in her bedroom before retreating to the bathroom. She undressed and settled down slowly into the hot bath she had drawn for herself. Lights off and candles lit, she placed a warm rag over her eyes and laid back to relax.

Arizona and Derek had killed two bottles of wine on the blonde's balcony. Their shift had ended hours ago and the night would soon be turning to morning. And still no word from Callie. After tucking Derek in on the couch, Arizona retreated to her bedroom to snuggle into her bed. Beneath the covers, she clutched her phone, checking it every few minutes or so. She was determined not to fall asleep and she was determined to prove Derek right.

"Even if you were a million miles away**  
><strong>I could still you feel you in my bed**  
><strong>Near me, touch me, feel me

And even at the bottom of the sea**  
><strong>I can still hear inside my head, **  
><strong>telling me touch me, feel me**  
><strong>and all the time you were telling me lies..."

Arizona knew the song humming through the radio didn't exactly describe her situation with Callie, but the few lyrics that did were enough to bring tears to the blonde. She turned over, unable to sleep, and checked her phone again. Nothing.

"So tonight, I'm gonna find a way to make it without you**  
><strong>tonight, I'm gonna find a way to make without you**  
><strong>I'm gonna hold onto the times that we had**  
><strong>tonight, I'm gonna find a way to make it without you..."

Three thousand miles away, Callie was settling into bed. She was beyond tired, but after fifteen minutes of restless sleep, the brunette remembered.

_"I snuck something into the bag you checked."_

Callie quickly popped out of bed and unzipped the only part of her suitcase that she hadn't unpacked. She found a small package wrapped in brown paper and twine. She ripped it open violently. In seconds, she was staring at a silver picture frame that held a photo of she and Arizona from two summers ago.

"Have you ever tried sleeping with a broken heart?**  
><strong>Well, you could try sleeping in my bed**  
><strong>Lonely, own me, nobody ever shut it down like you

You wore the crown**  
><strong>You made my body feel heaven bound**  
><strong>Why don't you hold me, need me?**  
><strong>I thought you told me you'd never leave me..."

Arizona had given up. A normal best friend would have texted over and over to see how Callie was doing. But knowing how she felt about the brunette, Arizona had decided against it. She set her phone on the small nightstand beside her and made a feeble attempt at sleep. Minutes later, she was on her back, staring at the ceiling.

"Looking in the sky I can see your face**  
><strong>And I knew right where I'd fit in**  
><strong>Take me, make me, you know that I'll always be in love with you**  
><strong>Right til the end..."

Callie brushed the photo with her fingers as tears filled her eyes. She missed Seattle. She missed her friends. She missed Arizona. Callie reached over to her phone, flipped it open, and began to text.

Arizona was jolted from her thoughts by the buzzing of her phone. She grabbed in and flicked it open quickly to read. It was Callie.

_I suck, I forgot to call you. :( But I just opened what you sneaked in. :) I miss you, Arizona. _

The blonde smiled, overwhelmed with everything. She was overjoyed that Callie was okay, but sad that she was on the other side of the country. Arizona breathed in sharply with sadness and relief.

Callie waited for a reply and received one within minutes.

_Hope you like it. I miss you crazy much. Seattle is not the same without you. :(_

After texting for a half hour or so, the girls called it a night with promises to talk to one another tomorrow.

"So tonight, I'm gonna find a way to make it without you**  
><strong>tonight, I'm gonna find a way to make without you**  
><strong>I'm gonna hold onto the times that we had**  
><strong>tonight, I'm gonna find a way to make it without you..."

And beneath the same skies, though miles apart, Callie and Arizona drifted into their own separate slumbers.


	6. Chapter 6

Callie lifted her head to eye her alarm clock. "Shit!" She screamed as she got out of bed. "Shit, shit, shit." The brunette mumbled as she clumsily threw herself together, oblivious to whether or not she looked decent and definitely unaware that she hadn't put on a bra, brushed her teeth, or even fixed her hair. She grabbed her keys and flew down the stairs to her car. She looked a mess and was due to pick Arizona up at the airport in twenty minutes.

Arizona was sitting on a bench outside of the airport, waiting for her ride that had promised to pick her up promptly at four. However, in the five or so years that she had known Callie, she knew that chances of the brunette being on time for anyone or anything, was dismal. The blonde smiled and pulled a book from her bag and began to sift through the pages, thanking her intuition for having the sense to bring herself something to keep her occupied while waiting for Callie.

The Latina looked at her clock. 4:53. "Shit, shit, shit." She peeked above her steering wheel and through the traffic that stood at a stand-still in downtown Baltimore. She was already late and knowing that she was realistically still another 45 minutes from Arizona, she picked up her phone to text her waiting friend.

_Running late. Be there in half an hour._

Callie threw her phone on her seat and peered through the traffic again, somehow trying to will it to move faster. She settled back into her seat and put her head in her left hand that rested on the driver's side window. "Fuck." She muttered.

Arizona was well into the sandwich she had brought herself to snack on and halfway through chapter five of the book she was reading when her bag buzzed. She pulled out her phone and read a text that she already knew was coming from Callie. She smiled and began a reply.

_I know. Nothing changes, love. See you in an hour._

As nonchalant as Arizona had been with her text, she couldn't help but feel an overwhelmed joy inside of her to see Callie. It had been a grueling three weeks since she had seen her friend and she was thankful for the downtime alone on the airport bench to get rid of the nerves she had been having for the past few days. The blonde was excited as anything to see her best friend, but nervous as anything in knowing that, for the next three days, she was going to have to hide like hell the fact that she was in love with her.

Callie tossed her phone aside, knowing Arizona's ETA was more probable than her own. Since she was already late, she decided to detour to a market near the airport to pick up flowers for Arizona.

The brunette walked up to the vendor guy, who greeted her warmly. "Hey there. How can I help you sweetie?"

"Hey," Callie said as she eyed the small selection of flowers behind her. "Do you have any lilies?"

The vendor frowned. "No lilies, sorry. Too late in the year for me to carry them. "Who are they for?"

"A very special friend of mine. She is, uh, my..." Her voice trailed off as she thought. "She's my best friend."

"Well, girls do love roses. I have some of those. $5.99 a dozen."

Callie smirked. "Actually, most girls don't love roses. And the ones that do are the ones that just think they do because that is what Valentine's Day says they should like."

Callie caught her thoughts trailing off. "Do you have any daisies?"

The man nodded and wrapped up a daisy bunch around a few slices of brown tissue paper. "Girls really don't like roses?"

She handed him a five. "Girls like the gesture." She smiled. "But when it somes to flowers, roses are a little too cliché these days."

"I will keep that in mind."

"You do that." The brunette smiled a goodbye to the man, grabbed the flowers and headed to her car. After buckling herself in and looking at the time, she sped off to the airport.

Arizona was rounding out chapter seven when a black car skidded to a halt at the curb in front of her. She squinted through her sunglasses and noticed the profile of a girl she could only know to be Callie. She abandoned her bags and rushed to greet the girl in a hug.

"Calliope!" She hugged her as hard as she could and it was reciprocated. "I thought you'd be maybe an hour late, but three? Come on!"

Callie picked the smaller girl up for a better embrace. "Ahh, I missed you Arizona!" She kissed the blonde on the cheek and set her down. "I'm sorry I'm late. Traffic was terrible. And I overslept."

"At four in the afternoon?"

Callie giggled. "Well..."

"Well?"

The brunette reached into her car and grabbed the flower bunch she had bought for Arizona. "Well, these are for you." Callie smiled. "Since I was late and all."

Arizona breathed in the flowers as Callie retrieved her belongings from the park bench and shoved them into her backseat. After shutting the door next to them, Callie leaned against it and cocked her head.

"I like lilies. But they didn't have them."

"Daisies are my favorite, Calliope."

"Really?"

Arizona nodded with a crinkle in her lips. "Really."

"Well, that saves me for being late then I guess?" Callie said as she opened the passenger's side door for her best friend.

"Maybe a little." The blonde tucked herself down into the seat as Callie closed the door for her. Arizona took in a sharp breath as she waited for Callie to join her in the car.

"So, I thought maybe I could cook you some dinner tonight." The brunette said as she fastened her belt and punched her car into drive. She looked at the blonde. "Sound good?"

Arizona nodded. "Sounds perfect."

"And the tomorrow night, I want to take you out to meet some friends I have met in school. Maybe some dancing?"

"Oh yes, I can definitely do dancing." Arizona looked at Callie and down to the flowers, wondering how she was going to get through this weekend undetected. "Maybe some drinking too?"

"Drinking is in order then." Callie fled through the traffic. "Though I have no tolerance anymore. I study all the effing time."

Callie and Arizona enjoyed dinner in the harbor before retreating a few blocks down to Callie's apartment. After stuffing Arizona's bags into the bedroom, they made their way to the balcony and gossiped over a bottle of wine.

"Soooo, Derek has a girlfriend now."

"Really?

"Yeah. She is really nice."

"How'd they meet?"

"At the bar, of course."

"Name?"

"Meredith."

"Cute."

"Kinda."

They talked for hours and when night turned into morning, the two girls tipsily made their way off of the balcony and into the bedroom for sleep.

With jetlag on her side, Arizona woke before Callie the next morning and cooked breakfast for them both. They enjoyed pancakes and bacon on the couch with 'An Affair to Remember' playing on the TV. Their afternoon was filled with shopping in Georgetown with coffee before and after. In the evening, the caught dinner at a small Spanish restaurant on the way home.

"So, you up for going out tonight?' Callie asked the blonde as she played with her phone.  
>Between bites of tortilla, Arizona mumbled. "Oh, yeah. For sure. Brought a dancing dress and everything."<p>

Callie clicked her phone shut and rested her elbows on the table. "Good then, it's all set. Let's get outta here and go home and get ready."

Two hours later, Callie and Arizona were showing their ID's to the bouncers at Pearl, a decent nightclub in downtown Baltimore. Callie took Arizona's hand and guided them through the crowd to a table where her friends were waiting to meet them.

"Hey guys!" Callie let go of the blonde's hand to greet her friends with a round of hugs. She stepped back and offered an introduction for Arizona to the lot.

"Cristina, Mark, April, Teddy, Lexi, Miranda, this is Arizona. Arizona, these are my peeps from med school."

Arizona extended her hand and gave multiple hugs within the group. "It's so nice to meet you all."

After a few rounds of drinks, the group began to pair off. Mark and Lexi danced while Cristina and Miranda ventured to the other side of the bar to find a place to smoke. Teddy, Callie, Arizona and April sipped their drinks from the table, watching the others from afar.

"Oh her eyes, her eyes**  
><strong>Make the stars look like they're not shining**  
><strong>Her hair, her hair**  
><strong>Falls perfectly without her trying**  
><strong>She's so beautiful**  
><strong>And I tell her every day"

A handsome guy approached the group. "Hey ladies." He looked between the four girls before turning to Arizona and then back to the others.

"I was wondering if I could borrow your friend here for a dance." He turned back to the blonde. "If that is okay with you, of course."

Arizona smiled and took his hand. "I'm into the ladies, but I would love to dance. I love this song."

Callie smiled and the others giggled as they walked off to the dance floor. A few minutes later, Cristina and Miranda returned to the table with a round of shots for everyone. "So, Callie. THAT is your muff-diving friend?" Cristina said, setting down a handful of glasses.

"Yang! Watch your mouth." Miranda yelled over the music.

"Oh, uh uh. Not today, Mama B. We're not at the hospital so stop bossing me around." Cristina turned back to Callie. "Seriously, Callie? She's hot!"

"Her name is Arizona." April said politely.

"Whatever. She's hot."

Callie rolled her eyes and looked out to the dance floor. She down her two shots of tequila, along with the two still sitting in front of Teddy.

"Hey! Those were mi-"

"You're the DD tonight, Teds." The brunette said as she pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail. She smiled at the group and left for the dance floor.

"Yeah I know, I know**  
><strong>When I compliment her**  
><strong>She won't believe me**  
><strong>And it's so, it's so**  
><strong>Sad to think she don't see what I see**  
><strong>But every time she asks me do I look okay**  
><strong>I say..."

Callie found her best friend and gentleman dance partner mid-way through the crowd of bodies. She approached the pair. "Mind if I cut in?"

The guy kissed Arizona's hand and thanked her for the dance and then turned to Callie. She stepped back and smiled. "Not with you, though you are cute and all. She nodded towards Arizona. "With her."

He stepped aside politely. "Sure thing. Ladies," He said as he nodded his head and walked off. Callie turned to her friend and giggled.

"When I see your face**  
><strong>There's not a thing that I would change**  
><strong>Cause you're amazing**  
><strong>Just the way you are**  
><strong>And when you smile,**  
><strong>The whole world stops and stares for awhile**  
><strong>Cause girl you're amazing**  
><strong>Just the way you are..."**  
><strong>  
>They danced amongst the others on the floor. For Callie, it was a rather platonic dance, though her genuine gratitude and love came out in the lyrics. Arizona, however, romanticized the dance with her best friend in her head. She fought her thoughts, tooth and nail, to make sure she didn't let on how she was really feeling.<p>

It only got harder for the blonde as the night went on. The group continued drinking and alcohol, as Arizona knew all too well from being a bartender, was an inevitable catalyst for emotions, flirting, and bad decisions. For years, she had been witness to seeing drunk people make fools of themselves. And now, she was on the opposite end of it.

A few hours later, the group found themselves sitting on the floor in Callie's apartment playing a game of truth or dare.

"How old are we, people?" Miranda said and she plopped down on the floor. "We should be playing backgammon or something. We are grown ass adults and we are playing high school drinking games."

"Oh come on, Bailey. It's fun." Mark said, setting beers in front of everyone.

"Okay, Arizona. Truth or dare?"

Arizona, who had been in full conversation with April and Teddy, absentmindedly replied with a giggle, "Dare."

"Kiss me." Yang looked at Callie with a smirk, wasting no time in getting the game going.

"Robbins, I like the penis. But you're hot. Sorry." Yang said.

"Uhh-" Arizona managed to get out, looking at her best friend.

"It's true, you kinda are." Callie said.

The blonde smiled and crawled over to Cristina and planted a firm kiss on the brunette. "There."

Cristina mouthed to Callie through her teeth. "Hottttt."

The game went on with lap dances, confessions and a few make-outs here and there. And finally, the inevitable came. "Kiss Arizona." Teddy had given Callie the one dare Arizona had not wanted to be handed out. Suddenly, her drunken, laughing demeanor had turned to an hesitance.

Callie looked at her friend, who was sitting next to her. She smiled wide. "Why not?"  
>Her smile and her eyes made Arizona comfortable again. "Okay then, Calliope. Give me what you got."<p>

Callie took her best friend's words to heart. She put her hand on Arizona's cheek and inched her face closer to the blonde's. Before their heads were touching, she leaned slightly to the right, closed her eyes, and placed her lips on Arizona's. The blonde breathed sharply into Callie's mouth as she wrapped her fingers through Callie's hair. The soft act evolved into a passionate one as Callie parted Arizona's lips and deepened the kiss. A couple of moans and thirty seconds later, it was over and it had left both girls, as well as their audience, a bit stunned.

"Damn Arizona, you're a good kisser." Callie said.

"Hey, why didn't I get a kiss like that?" Cristina complained.

Arizona giggled and took a long swig of her beer with a shrug. "Sorry Yang."

Not long after, the group decided to call it a night. Callie's guests bunked down in the living room with pillows and blankets while she and Arizona headed for sleep in the back bedroom. After turning out the light next to her, Callie rolled over and spooned Arizona from behind. "I love you, Arizona. I'm so glad you are here."

Arizona knew that her friend had only meant what she had said in a friendly way, but played along with a giggle. "I miss you too Calliope. You should come back."

Within minutes, Callie was settled into a slumber, still with her arm wrapped around Arizona. The blonde nestled into the embrace not knowing whether to be happy or to cry. After a long sigh, her thoughts were taken over by sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Callie hadn't been able to come home for Thanksgiving, much to Arizona's disappointment. The brunette had, instead, found herself drowning in a pile of textbooks and papers that she knew she could not put off any longer.

Arizona had played it cool the day after the kissing incident as she realized the kiss hadn't meant nearly as much to Callie as it had to her. And had the blonde been an actress, she would have won an oscar for the 'It's-totally-cool-and-I'm-not-weired-out' performance she had given. Arizona had been okay with kissing Cristina, but there were feelings when it came to her best friend. That was the difference. And somehow, when Arizona got on the plane two days later to return to Seattle, she shoved those feelings deep into her suitcase along with the rest of her belongings, determined to get the brunette out of her heart.

So as things go, the two remained the best of friends and life went on as usual. They kept in touch via text and weekly phone calls and chatted about everything and nothing at all, just as they always had. And in between, they would surprise each other with packages here and there. Last week, Callie had received a care package from Arizona a Joe filled with necessities for the apartment and letters from her old co-workers. The brunette expressed her gratitude by sending Arizona a gold and sable-colored Johns Hopkins hoodie. A note had been attached that read:

_I know Seattle is getting cold, so you may need this. See you soon! -Callie_

Arizona wore the hoodie to work almost every night. Though it wasn't easy to work in at the bar, it made the blonde feel closer to her best friend. One night, around the middle of December, Arizona found herself sitting at the bar of Joe's after she and Derek had cleaned up from a busy shift. They, along with Derek's girlfriend Meredith, took turns refilling each of their glasses of beer as they chatted.

"So Arizona," Meredith started. "Are you dating anyone?"  
>The blonde sipped her beer and smiled. "Negative. Thirty and single. Rather depressing."<br>"It'll get better, Robbins." Derek said, putting his arm around his friend.  
>"I'm not sulking."<br>"I know. But you're hot and there are girls in here lining up for you."  
>"This is true." Meredith chimed in. "I've seen it."<br>Arizona spaced off. "Well, I'm not really-. I'm just not available right now."  
>"Like I said, it will get better." Derek said as he down the rest of his beer.<p>

Arizona smiled, knowing full well that her friend was referring to Callie. She didn't think confessing her love would ruin their friendship, but it had the possibility of making things weird. And Arizona didn't do weird.

The threesome enjoyed one more drink together before locking up the bar and parting ways. Arizona hopped over the two lanes of downtown street and made her way to the second floor where her condo awaited her. It had been a long day and the blonde was looking for getting some well deserved rest.

She unlocked her door and closed it behind her. After slipping off her jacket and shoes, Arizona went to her bedroom and retrieved a pair of comfy pajamas to change into. She was so tired that she hadn't noticed the unfamiliar bag that rested by the door or the strong smell of food cooking. The blonde was walking back out into the loving room when she noticed the brunette standing in the kitchen fussing over the stove. She took a double-take before rushing over.

"Calliope!" Arizona hugged her friend. "What are you doing here?"  
>"Whaaaat?" Callie playfully frowned. "Not happy to see me?"<br>"No, I am! I just-" She hugged her friend again. "I wasn't expecting you. You didn't tell me you were coming!"

Callie smiled. "Well, I wanted it to be a surprise. Especially because I remember that you like to have dinner after you get home from work, so I thought I would sneak in and make you something."  
>Arizona smiled as Callie handed her a glass of wine. "That's very sweet of you. I'm actually starving."<br>"Good then, let's eat and have wine over a movie. Your pick."

Arizona had been thrilled to death to learn that Callie had come back to Seattle early for winter break. Christmas was in two weeks and the girls didn't waste any time in getting ready for it. They bought a tree from a downtown vendor and brought it home to decorate. They donned the apartment with pine-scented candles and poinsettas while carols and jingles played in the background. White Christmas lights were strung and windows were frosted with fake snow. It was gawdy, but it was their favorite time of the year.

Between the holiday decorating and properly catching up with Arizona, Callie picked up a few shifts at the bar to help out and to make a little extra money. As it always had at the bar and with Arizona, the days flew by for the brunette. Before she knew it, Christmas Eve had arrived.

Joe closed the bar early on the 24th for a small holiday get-together for some of the serious regulars and his staff. They sipped on egg nog and exchanged small gifts for one another. Nothing huge, but rather intimate and a nice change from the chaos that was usually in there these days.

Callie and Arizona went back to their flat early in the evening to get ready for the next day. When in came to Christmas, the both of them were giddy twelve year-olds. Callie waited for Arizona to go to sleep before stuffing her stocking and the blonde woke up early to do the same. It had been decided earlier in the night, upon Callie's request, that the two of them would wake up at five a.m. to unwrap gifts.

And so they did. Arizona had just finished throwing candy into their stockings when Callie came running out into the living room. The blonde giggled at the sight and stepped into the kitchen to turn on the coffee pot to brew. The presents under the tree were light. Arizona had gotten a Callie a few thoughtful gifts and had left her small goodies in her stocking and Callie had done the same.

"Okay, okay, okay," Callie started. "I have one more gift for you." She pulled a small package from the pocket of her Johns Hopkins hoodie that matched the one Arizona was wearing.  
>"Another one?" Arizona asked.<br>"Just something small," Callie eyed the blonde as she opened the small box and pulled out a small, folded-up piece of paper.

Arizona looked up at her friend with questioning eyes.  
>"Or something kinda big. Just read it." Callie said with a smile.<p>

Arizona unfolded the paper and began to read. With every left-to-right eye stroke, her six a.m. sleepy face slowly began to turn into a big grin.  
>"Calliope?"<br>"Yes?"  
>"You're moving back?"<br>"Yes."

Funding had been cut at Johns Hopkins, of all schools, and the students had been all but forced to apply like hell to other programs around the country. With Callie's high marks and numerous credible letters or recommendation, the brunette had finally landed herself into a transferrred, yet accepted spot at the University of Washington. Cristina and Miranda had also been accepted. Mark had been denied and Lexi was still awaiting word.

"Oh my God, Calliope!" Arizona threw the letter aside and enveloped the brunette into a hug.  
>"So is my room here still open?" Callie asked.<br>"It's yours forever."  
>"Merry Christmas."<br>Arizona smiled. "Best Christmas ever you mean?"

Later that day, like every year for the past five years, Arizona and Callie hosted Christmas dinner for Derek, and now Meredith, along with Joe and the other employees of his bar. They shared the news of Callie's return to the good city of Seattle. After food filled them, the lot drank egg nog to celebrate.

Callie returned to Baltimore later in the week as she had one last semester to prepare for at Johns Hopkins University. That spring, she was to return to Seattle for the rest of her schooling and to resume the life she had missed for so long.

Things quickly fell into place once Callie moved back to Seattle. The only thing that was different now was that medical school, as opposed to undergrad, did not allow her the time to work like she did before. Actually, she didn't have time for much of anything but school and sleep.

Joe kept her booth open at the bar for her study time and she shared the spot with her classmates Miranda, Cristina, and Lexie, the latter of which had managed to get accepted into the coveted program at University of Washington. Over free food and the occasional nightcaps provided by Arizona and Joe, the foursome spent the next three years of their lives sleep deprived in that corner booth at the bar.

Some nights, when it was slow, Arizona would break from her bartending duties and quiz the group using flashcards that Miranda had made. During the week, the blonde would return to her apartment after work to find the lot of them huddled around a circle, fighting off sleep and memorizing the body part of the week. Sometimes she would bring Derek and Joe over to help them study. The three of them being bartenders with no education, save Arizona, respected the four of them for what they were doing and going through - the blonde especially, knowing where her friend had been just a few years before. Seeing Callie fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor meant the world to Arizona.

Their time in school went by painfully slow, yet it was stangely over quicker than they had imagined. On a sunny day in June, they found themselves walking across a long podium and shaking the hands of their mentors, their teachers, and each other as they received their diplomas from medical school. They were now doctors.

Callie's parents had not come and neither had any of her other family members. The brunette stood politely by her friends as they greeted their mothers and fathers in celebratory hugs and small chatter. Her sadness was only brief as it was interrupted by the same three that had seen her through her first graduation four years ago. Joe, Derek, and Arizona. The trio enveloped her in a congratulatory hug that almost suffocated the brunette.

"Torres!" Derek spoke up after they let up a little. "Congrats, girl. Hey, I have this pain in my neck. Can you tell me what it is?" The group laughed.  
>"I'm not a doctor yet, Derek." She looked between him and the other two in front of her. "Thank you guys so much for everything." She started to tear up. "I know I have said it a lot over the years, but I mean it. I would never have made it here without the three of you." Callie looked amongst her surroundings and at her other classmates and then back to her friends. "You are my family."<p>

That night, Callie invited her fellow graduates to a bar party that Joe had, as was accustomed, thrown for her. Along with Derek, Arizona, and Meredith, the group of graduates enjoyed a rare night of easiness without worry of any tests that lay ahead the next day. They got to know each other, they had fun, and for that night, at least, the weight of school had been lifted from their shoulders.

Their care-free days were short-lived as they had to prepare for entrances into their residency programs. They had all, of course, applied to hospitals in and around the Seattle area so as not to have to move too far from where they had been - for Callie, especially, since she had donned Seattle her true home a few years ago. Arizona, of course, had helped the brunette with her applications, just as she had done before. Despite her feelings, she wanted Callie Torres around to be her best friend even if it could never be anything else.

In the end, it seemed all of their hard work had paid off. Callie and Cristina had landed jobs as surgical residents at Seattle Grace while Miranda and Lexie had acquired their respective stints at a neighboring hospital, Mercy West. Though the foursome didn't get their residencies together, none of them, as hoped for, had to leave Seattle at all.

In the early morning hours of a calm day in September, Callie peeked one eye open to silently curse at the alarm lock that had been hissing at her for the past half hour. She pulled herself out of bed sleepily and threw her clock on the ground. Though she was now techically a doctor and in a profession that demanded an early work schedule, the brunette still remained at war with mornings. Not much had changed.

After a warm shower, she dressed and made her way to the kitchen to make coffee, only to find that a fresh pot was already waiting for her. She looked down to find a travel mug and note sitting on the counter.

_Calliope,_

_I came in late from the bar. I was awake and thought you may need a pick-me-up for work today. Hence, the coffee. No worries, it is the strong stuff - just like you like it. Have a good day. See you soon._

_Always,_  
><em>Arizona<em>

Callie smiled down at the note and sleepily began to pour herself a mug of coffee. She and Arizona's friendship slash relationship had not gone further than the kiss they had shared some three years and some change ago, but it had gotten quite intimate, even for a best friendship. There was a love that they shared that neither one of them understood. They had movie nights, they snuggled in bed together after shitty days and notes, like the one Callie had just received, were written with love. They knew each other to the core and love each other even more. And they just went with it. It seemed natural.

The brunette blinked through her sleepy eyes and grabbed her coffee. She threw on her jacket, snatched her keys and fleed the apartment in fear that she would be late. Today was her first day of work at Seattle Grace Hospital.

Callie was told within the first hour of her shift that she would be working for the next 48 hours. Straight. 'Eat when you can, sleep when you can' was the motto. Thankfully, for her, she had the familiar face of Cristina throughout it all. They would meet in the basement of the hospital where they could freak out on each other and swap stories about their day. It was hell, for sure, but that was the life they were about to know, live and breathe.

In the last hour of Callie's first two-day stretch, something came in to push it another four hours. The brunette had been told by the attending on duty to wait outside with two of her other fellow residents for an incoming trauma situation.

"What are we waiting out here for?" Cristina asked Reed, another resident that was told to wait with them.  
>"We are waiting for whatever is coming. Ambulances I think?"<br>"Saweeeet! I love guts. I hope it's a bad one." Cristina said as she rubbed the backsides of her arms with her hands to fight off the chilly Seattle air.  
>"That's kinda morbid, Yang. Don't ya think?" Callie said.<br>"Maybe. But I'm weird, so I'm allowed."  
>"That, you defintely are, Cristina."<p>

Dr. Burke, their attending, emerged through the double-doors of the emergency room. Another doctor was behind him, helping him tie on his yellow trama gown. He threw one to each of the girls. "Get ready, ladies. We have a lot of work to do."

They yawned as they threw on their gowns.  
>"Now's not the time for tiredness. Travel bus ran a light in downtown. At least a dozen will be sent here - the other hospitals have taken all they can."<br>"Yes sir."

Five minutes later, the trio found themselves knee-deep in trauma. Reed and Cristina were already inside in bay number two with Burke and a nurse working on a set of siblings that had been ejected from a car that had been hit by the bus. Callie remained outside waiting with another doctor to bring in the last of the victims from downtown.

A medic opened the rear doors to the ambulance and handed the doctor next to Callie a chart. "Minor lacerations on the face and arms, one severe on the abdomen. Vitals stable."  
>"The doctor looked over the chart and handed it to Callie. "Let's get this one to bay five, if there is room."<p>

Callie nodded as she looked over the chart, pretending to know what she was doing. She didn't, so she tried to familiarize herself as much as she could with the patient. She noticed the name and her eyes darted immediately to the handsome male that was on the stretcher, flirting hopelessly with a female medic. "Mark?" She asked.

He looked over. "Torres!" He winced slightly as he shifted. "How the hell are ya?"  
>"I'm, well it's my first day. Wait, what are you doing here?"<br>"Ahh, took a bus up from Missouri to visit Lexie. Was a surprise kinda thing."  
>"Ahh, I see. We miss you in the hospital. Grey told me that you didn't get into any of your choices."<br>"Yeah, sure didn't. Guess good looks don't get you everywhere in life."  
>"That, they don't." Callie laughed.<br>"But hey, it's okay. I'm a paramedic and I like it good enough." He looked back at the medic who was wheeling him in. "Which, by the way, you're not good."  
>"Mark, be nice."<p>

Callie checked him over, under supervision of course, once they were in the bay. "You have some nasty cuts, Mark. You're going to need many, many stitches."  
>"Use glue where you can. Less scarring."<br>"Will do, Dr. Sloan." The brunette giggled, thankful for a friendly face among the chaos that her last two days had been. They chatted for a while as Callie observed the doctors working on him. They caught up and talked about their old times at Johns Hopkins.

Mark was still being sutured up when things died down enough for Callie to leave her shift. She peeked in to say goodbye. He was to be in town for a week and she promised that, schedule permitting, she would call Lexie for a get-together before he left.

Callie barely made it home without falling asleep. Never in her life had she ever been as tired as she was right now. Once back to the apartment, she used the last bit of energy that she had in her to change out of her dirty scrubs and into something that she found in the dryer in the laundry room next to the kitchen. Her body wouldn't let her go any further than the living room. The brunette was so tired that she fell onto the couch without realizing that Arizona was fast sleep on the opposite end. She was asleep within minutes, but not before wrapping her arms unknowingly around her roommate's legs to cuddle.


	8. Chapter 8

Just friends. Only friends. That is what Arizona Robbins had been chanting to herself for the past few months. The truth, of course, was that she had been in love with Callie Torres for years. Having her best friend back in Seattle, living with her and seeing her almost every day, however, was taking a toll on the blonde. Hiding her feelings was becoming much harder. A lot harder. And if Arizona were completely honest with herself, she would say that she had been in love with the brunette from the moment she laid eyes on her.

It was New Years' Eve and, by chance, trickery, and a ton of begging, both girls and their lot of friends had been given the night off from work. It started a few days before with a fellow co-worker of Callie's coming down with chickenpox. Knowing she would set off risk of spreading the contagious illness, she slipped into his room intentionally to 'check in on him'. Later that evening, the chief went through the employees that had made contact with him and sent them home. Score for Callie.

Cristina had done the same, as had Reed and a few others from their residency group. Once Arizona learned that Callie would be free for New Years' Eve, she began her pleading with Derek and her brother to get the night off.

_"Joe, come on, I've been here every holiday that you have asked me to for the last ten years. Give me this one night off."_

_"We are slammed on New Years' Eve every year, sis. I need you here." he replied, shuffling cases in beer to the front of the bar as they talked._

_"I'll work till ten and then come back in the morning to clean. You can leave everything for me to clean."_

_Joe continued to stock the bar and walked with his sister and Derek as they worked. Arizona looked to Derek for help and then back to her brother. "I will throw in a free car wash once the weather is nice and do your laundry for a month."_

_Derek piped in. "I think we can manage it, guy. We have Meredith and Sadie helping and if Arizona stays till ten then, we should be okay."_

_"Three months."_

_Arizona looked up from the bar and to her brother._

_"Three months of laundry and you are in here in the morning to clean up."_

_"Thank you, thank you, thank you Joe!" She hugged her brother and winked at Derek before racing home to tell Callie she would be able to join the gang for the big night. _

"Alright, tabs are on the end of the bar and the case is fully stocked." Arizona sad as she threw her bar towel in the laundry bin. "You guys will be okay, just keep an eye on the regulars and the frat guys over there in the corner."

"Got it, boss." Her brother said sarcastically.

"You go on and have fun, Robbins." Derek gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck."

"Thanks."

Arizona had told Derek of her plan to finally spill her heart to Callie. Over the years, Arizona had been really good in deceiving her best friend, but Derek had been the one person who had seen through it all. He was supportive and sympathetic to his friend, but spent a lot of his time trying to convince Arizona to finally tell Callie how she felt. The last thing the Arizona had wanted was to lose her friend or to make things weird between them. But in recent days, however, the blonde had found herself unable to keep it in any longer. She knew she couldn't lie anymore. And tonight was the night she would tell Callie how much she really loved her.

As much as Arizona wished for a shower to rinse away the smell of work, she did not want to risk the chance of being late meeting the others. She used the bathroom at Joe's to change and throw on some light make-up. A spritz of her favorite perfume and five minutes later, she was exiting the front door of the bar and heading to her flat across the street to meet Callie.

She threw her work bag on the floor and slammed the door hurridly behind her. "You still here, Torres?" She called out to the back of her apartment. Her roommate emerged seconds later, putting an earring in. Arizona stopped in her tracks when she saw the brunette. Callie was dressed in a short, tight black dress and was wearing black heels. Arizona gulped to herself as she took in the sight of the woman standing in front of her. Her hair was curled and down. "Calliope, you look wonderful."

The brunette smiled. "You don't look so bad yourself, love." She said, as she put a second earring in. "You almost ready?"

Arizona could only nod and smile. Callie checked the time on her phone. "Good, cause Cristina and Mark will be here any minute." She flipped it closed and tucked it into the small black handbag that she was carrying. She walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses. "Let's pregame before we go."

An hour and a half later, Callie and Arizona were in the company of their friends at Bang, a popular downtown Seattle nightclub. Cristina, Reed, and Percy were there as were Lexie and Mark, the latter of which had permanentely moved to Washington to be with Lexie a few months ago.

It had been a good thing for Mark and Lexie when they lived apart from each other and for a bit when Mark had just moved up to Seattle to be with the brunette. But it seemed like it was over before it even started for them. Lexie was focused with her job and since Mark hadn't made it in to the residency program, he wasn't. He had a job and that was enough for him. Mark was handsome, smart, and fun. But as much as Lexie loved him, she knew they couldn't be together. He wasn't ready to settle down, that she was sure of.

Cristina and Callie slammed their shot glasses down on the bar. "Want another, Torres?" Cristina asked.

"Uh, yeah?" She looked behind to her best friend. "You want another shot, Arizona?"

"Ahh, sure." She replied, handing Callie her empty shot glass. "Put this round on me."

The trio licked salt from their hands, downed their shots and slammed their glasses down onto the bar simultaneously. Afterwards, they stuffed lemons in their mouths, sucked and threw them onto the bar as well.

"Wowee, ahh." Cristina yelled. "I love me some tequila!" She winked at the bartender who was walking by. 'Makes me all frisky inside." Callie and Arizona laughed.

"Don't you laugh, blondie." Cristina said with a serious face. "You're my New Years' Eve kiss tonight."

"Well, I-"

"Back off, drunken Yang." Callie said. "No molesting Arizona tonight."

"You always wanna make out with me when you are wasted, Cristina. What's up with that?" Arizona asked.

"Tequila." Cristina replied. "Tequila makes me do these things that you speak of."

"Well, hands off Arizona." Caliie said. "I'm keeping her close to me tonight." She flashed the blonde a teethy smile to which Arizona could only blush. _Maybe this won't be as hard as I thought. _She said to herself, looking away with a nervous smile.

The girls were joined by Mark, Lexie, Percy and Reed a few minutes before midnight to retrieve their champagne from the bar. The group stood in their own small circle in the middle of the crowded club as they waited for the countdown to begin. Arizona pretty much knew that it was now or never. If she didn't say anything to Callie tonight, she wouldn't be saying anything at all.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven..." They yelled with the rest of the crowd in unison as they held their glasses of champagne in the air.

"Three, two, one..."

"Happy New Year!" everyone screamed together.

Cristina grabbed Arizona and planted a kiss on her. "Happy New Year blondie!" She said before scurrying off to find someone else to plant one on. They all exhanged kisses, most of which were friendly, to bring in the new year. And then, through the crowd, Callie found her best friend. She hugged the blonde and then whispered in her ear, "Happy New Year, Arizona." She pulled away from the hug and placed her lips on Arizona's.

It wasn't a passionate kiss and no tongue swapping took place. It was just a simple, yet full, loving, slow, soft peck on the lips. Arizona returned the kiss, leaning into the brunette to press her lips a bit harder against Callie's. When they parted, Arizona spoke up. "Calliope, I need to tell you something."

Callie smiled. "Sure, what's up?"

But before Arizona could confess her feelings, her words and thoughts became drowned out by people singing Auld Lang Syne which had been playing since the stroke of midnight.

_**"For auld lang syne, my dear,  
>for auld lang syne,<br>we'll take a cup of kindness yet,  
>for auld lang syne.<br>**_  
><em><strong>We two have run about the slopes,<br>and picked the daisies fine;  
>But we've wandered many a weary foot,<br>since auld lang syne..."**_

They partied into the night and after a few more rounds of tequila and beers to follow, everyone was on that beloved alcohol-induced high somewhere between tipsy and wasted. And though Arizona had not yet been able to pour herself to Callie, she was certaintly getting what she thought were a lot of green lights from the brunette. The DJ slowed in down a bit for the crowd as a familiar song came through the speakers.

"Oh my God, I love this song!" Callie yelped, grabbing Arizona's hand. She led them to the middle of the dance floor and threw her arm around the blonde and began mouthing the words.

_**"I see you searchin' for somebody  
>That'll take you out and do you right (do you right)..."<strong>_

Callie teasingly nudged Arizona away from her a bit as she bit her bottom lip with a smile. She pulled Arizona back in and used her finger to motion the lyrics.

_**"Well come here baby and let daddy show you what it feel like (feel like)  
>You know all you gotta do is tell me what you sippin' on (sippin' on)<br>And I promise that I'm gonna keep it comin' all night long..."**_

Arizona breathed in Callie as they danced. Her hair, her perfume, all of her. And the faint smell of tequila on the brunette's breath was strangely arousing. She squeezed the muscles in her stomach to try to get rid of the butterflies that had been there all night.

_**"Lookin' in your eyes while you walk the other side  
>And I think that shorty I've got a thing for you<br>Doin' it on purpose winding and workin' it  
>I can tell by the way you lookin' at me girl<strong>_

_**I wanna make love in this club. ayy  
>I wanna make love in this club, ayy<br>in this club ayy, in this club ayy, in this club ayy..."**_

Deciding to play along with Callie's tease dance, Arizona took the lead. She grabbed Callie's hips and slowed them down. She placed her lips inches from the brunette's and began to sing.

_**"You got some friends rollin' with you baby then that's cool  
>You can leave them with my peeps, let em know that I got you<br>If you didn't know, you're the only thing that's on my mind  
>Cause the way I'm staring miss you got me wantin to give it to you all night<strong>_

_**Lookin' in your eyes while you walk the other side  
>I can't take it no more<br>Baby I'm comin' for you  
>You keep doin' it on purpose winding and working it<br>If we close our eyes it could be just me and you..."  
><strong>_  
>They closed their eyes and danced. Callie's skirted legs hugged Arizona's thighs, clad in dark blue skinny jeans. The blonde had worn heels to be level with her friend for this particular reason. Dancing. They swayed, grinded, and whatever else they could legally do on a public dance floor.<p>

As the song continued, Arizona thought to herself, _Best New Years' Eve ever._ When she opened her eyes, she saw two brown orbs that had already been staring at her. Arizona saw something in her eyes. Realization. She knew.

"Calli-" Arizona whispered.

"Shhssh." Callie said with a soft, unsure smile and looked down to Arizona's lips.

**"Might as well give me a kiss  
>If we keep touching like this<br>I know you scared, baby  
>They don't know what we doin'<br>Let's both get undressed right here  
>Keep it up girl and I swear<br>I'ma give it to you non-stop  
>And I don't care who's watchin'..."<br>**  
>Just as Arizona did the same, a loud, annoyingly drunk voice brought the girls from the trance they had been in. "Get a room, geez!" Cristina yelped. "I brought you guys shots."<p>

"Yeah, I think I need one." Callie said, taking the glass from her friend.

Arizona followed. "Oh, me too. Let's go get more."

"Yay!" Cristina screamed with joy. "Drunk bitches! Tequila! Wooo!"

Something indeed had been napped inside of Callie with that dance and it was in her mind for the rest of the night. Much to her surprise, nothing was weird or strange about it. Still, she was too drunk to comprehend anything that was going on in her head and decided not to say anything to anyone about it, including Arizona. They were best friends and they talked about everything. And they would talk about this tomorrow. _But what was this?_ Callie thought to herself. _Nothing even happened - just a warm, funny feeling and the urge to kiss her friend. Girls do that. All. the. time. No biggie. More tequila. Need more alcohol now. Callie, stop thinking so much._

The group closed the club and made their way back to Arizona's house by 3:30 a.m. They opened more alcohol and crammed the balcony outside, making resolutions, toasts, and memories. Nothing was weird and all was fun.

Percy and Reed left around five in the morning, citing premature hangovers. Cristina had long since passed out hugging the toilet in the spare bathroom. Sensing Mark and Lexie needing some time alone, Arizona excused herself inside to take a much-needed shower. She used the time alone to think about what she was going to say to Callie. Arizona was drunk and the truth comes out when you are drunk. But so does a lot of jibberish. In any case, she was going to talk to Callie. That, she was sure of. Right now.

Arizona clothed, dried her hair, and threw her clothes in the washer. She moved Cristina to the couch before making her way to Callie's room. As she knocked slightly, the door opened just wide enough to see Mark on top of her best friend, moving in rhythm with music that was coming from the radio beside them. Arizona's stomach dropped in a pain she never knew existed in this world. She slowly shut the door and walked away.

_**"It gets harder everyday, but I can't seem to shake the pain.  
>I'm trying to find the words to say, please stay.<br>It's written all over my face.  
>I can't function the same when you're not here.<br>Calling your name when no one's there.  
>And I hope one day you'll see nobody has it easy.<br>I still can't believe you've found somebody new.  
>But I wish you the best, I guess."<br>**_  
>She was angry. She was hurt. She was, jealous. Arizona knew she didn't need it, but she grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge, uncorked it, and went outside on the balcony to sort through her throughts and her heart for something.<p>

_**"Cause everybody knows, that nobody really knows.  
>How to make it work, or how to ease the hurt.<br>We've heard it all before, that everybody knows just how to make it right.  
>I wish we gave it one more try.<br>One more try,  
>one more try,<br>one more try,  
>'Cause everybody knows, nobody really knows..."<br>**_

As she stared out into the city, she let her mind wander and when all of the wandering was done, she began to cry. She was wiping the third round of tears from her eyes when he noticed she wasn't alone.

"I-, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to see you. But you just came out here so quick and you were upset and I didn't want to interrupt your crying, because crying, it's good. Except you don't look good, but I didn't mean it like that. I-, I'll go."

Arizona could see that the other girl was sincere. "Lexie, it's okay." The blonde managed a smile. "I'm so drunk I don't care at this point."

The sat in silence for a moment before tears came to Arizona's eyes again. Lexie spoke up. "Are you okay?"

Arizona looked down into her lap and nodded. "Tonight just didn't go the way I planned I guess."

"It was all fun until we came back here."

"Yeah."

"Oh my God." Lexie breathed in. "You love her, don't you?"

When Arizona didn't reply, Lexie spoke up again, this time with tears in her eyes as well. "And I love him." She cleared her throat. "You know, he's a decent guy. He wouldn't have done that if he knew how you felt. He's just-"

Arizona stood up and gave Lexie her bottle of wine. "You finish this, looks like you need it too."

"You heading to bed?"

The blonde stuffer her hands in her pockets. "No, I need to go to the bar to clean up." She laughed sarcastically. "My deed for begging for the night off to spend it with Callie is that I get to clean up."

"Well, I'll come with you. I'll help."

"No, it's okay, you don't have to."

"I want to. That, and Mark is my ride and I don't want to be here alone."

_**"I don't care what people say, they brought it all in anyway.  
>Baby don't fill up your head with he-said, she-said.<br>It seems like you just don't know. (don't know)  
>The radio's on, you're tuning me out.<br>I'm trying to speak, you're turning me down.  
>And I know one day you'll see nobody has it easy.<br>I still can't believe you've found somebody new.  
>But I wish you the best, I guess..."<br>**_  
>Arizona walked into the bar with nothing to clean. She found a note in the back office taped to a bottle of champange.<p>

_Arizona,  
><em>  
><em>I couldn't make you clean everything, I just didn't have the heart. So, Meredith and I took care of it after Joe left. I did leave you the bar to stock, only because Joe can always tell when I do it because I suck and am messy. Anyway, I hope tonight went well and that you had a happy New Year. You deserve it.<br>_  
><em>Love,<br>Derek  
><em>  
>Arizona smiled at the gesture from her friend, but it only made things worse for some reason. She and Lexie went up front, stocked the cooler, and took a seat at the bar.<p>

_**"And I know one day you'll see nobody has it easy.  
>I still can't believe you've found somebody new.<br>But I wish you the best, I guess..."  
><strong>_  
>Lexie held her as she finally let out the sobbing tears she had been fighting. Arizona cried until there was nothing left in her and together, they watched through the windows of the bar as the sun began torise above Seattle. To think that just four hours ago, she has been feeling the exact opposite of what she was now. Worst New Years' ever. <p>


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Few things. One - thank you for all of the love for the story. And for the alerts, reviews, and favorites. Two - I have decided to slow this fic up a bit. I have covered about ten years of plot in eight chapters. It has been fin doing this, but for the sake of where the story needs to go, I am going to slow it down only enough to tell the tale. Three - I started this on my board but it's not letting me update at the moment. So, for any Calzonaboard fans that may be reading this - it will be up there as soon as it lets me.**

**Lastly, I am sorry that they are not yet together, but please know that Calzona is endgame. It's angsty and I'm sorry, but I only started this story on a whim and I let it take me where it does. **

**Once again, thank you for the reviews, etc. It means a lot. :)**

* * *

><p>Arizona was heartbroken. Completely and utterly, without a doubt, heartbroken. In the days and nights that had followed New Years' Eve, she had cursed to herself that she had been a fool to believe that Callie would ever reciprocate any kinds of feelings that she had for her best friend. The smallest of hopes had kept Arizona hanging on to the possibility that their friendship would turn into something more. But now, those hopes were gone. Callie had slept with Mark. Callie was straight, not gay. And rule number one that Arizona had learned a long time ago was never to fall in love with your straight best friend. But she had.<p>

Not that Arizona owned Callie or that her best friend wasn't free to do what she wanted, but this time it was different. When Callie was with Alex, she had been a stranger to the blonde. And when she married George, the two girls were just getting to know each other. Over the years though, Arizona had fallen in love. And this time, with Mark, it hurt. Bad.

She didn't know if it was because she had actually witnessed it - something that Arizona had longed for so long to have with Callie. Sex. Intimacy. Whatever. Or maybe it was because she had gone so much out of her way to spend the night with the brunette only to be rejected and ignored to go bang the hottie that was freshly single. In the end, it didn't matter what the reason was for the pain. Arizona felt it. Every day. Every night. All the time.

It was made evident in the late afternoon of January first that Callie had no clue as to what her roommate had seen earlier that morning. She had woken the blonde up with coffee and a smile and the two had breakfast for dinner as they recovered from their hangovers. Callie had done only what a best friend does and had spilled all the juicy details to Arizona about what the blonde already knew. Arizona had tried not to cringe or cry during the short-lived, although agonizing, recap of Callie's sexcapade with Mark and she had put on her best, dimpled smile, once again, for her friend.

And so it went, Arizona swallowed her feelings. Again. But this time, the blonde vowed to never, ever think of her roommate as anything other than her best pal. No pining, no hoping, no loving in secret. She was determined, more than ever, to put an end - in her mind - to something that would never be.

Arizona was weirdly thankful for Callie's long, hectic schedule at work. And to mirror it, only to keep her mind from wandering astray, the blonde worked every shift that her brother needed filled. Still, and it didn't help her heart in the slightest, when she would come home late to a random meal cooked by Callie left in the microwave with a note attached. Usually it read something simple that she could handle like,' _Hope your day was good.'_ Other times she would find one that pulled a little too much at the stings of her heart like, _'I know this is your favorite and I made it with love.' _

Arizona went on with her day-to-day life as did Callie. Weeks passed without much interaction between the two girls. It was mostly, of course, due to their schedules. Some nights, though, Arizona would peek across the street from the bar while closing up the bar to see the lights on their apartment on. On these nights, she would hang around at work extra late to help Derek with cleanup and to share a nightcap with her friend, who she confided in the most. She figured the less interaction she had with her roommate, the less she would have lie, to herself and to her best friend.

One night in early February, the blonde and her co-tender were polishing off a bottle of Scotch when Derek finally decided to bring up the Latina. In the weeks that they had worked together since the first of the year, Arizona hadn't mentioned the girl once.

"So Robbins, how was New Years'? You never really said how it went?"

The blonde fiddled with the glass in front of her and offered a half-smile to the man sitting next to her. "It was..." She didn't want to talk about it, even now, so she made her best attempt to offer a general answer. "...nice." Arizona smiled again and took another small sip of her drink.

It wasn't a lie, really. It had actually been nice, in the beginning. The dancing, the kiss, the look in Callie's eyes when Arizona had realized that the Latina finally had finally, sort-of, figured out Arizona's secret. Even the confidence that Arizona remembered having on her way to tell Callie how she felt was strangely...nice. It's just that everything that happened afterwards had been just the opposite. It had been horrible. It was still horrible.

Derek saw right through his friend and he knew she was lying. He had known from the start that something had happened and he had given Arizona some space and time to talk about it. Still, he knew her better than anyone did and she needed someone right now.

"No it wasn't." he said with a soft smile, opening a door for Arizona to begin talking.

"Derek, it's nothing." She got up from her barstool and retreated behind the bar to fetch the one-thirds full bottle of Scotch. After pouring the both of them another glass, she leaned on the bar with her elbows and looked at the man sitting across from her. Derek was a good friend and she saw the genuine look of worry in his eyes. Holding all of this inside of her hadn't done any good over the last month, so she decided that maybe a good drunken talk with Derek would help.

"You can talk to me, Robbins. You know that."

Arizona shifted her weight from one leg to the other and nodded as she brought the glass to her lips. "Callie slept with Mark that night."

"What?"

"Yeah." She brushed some loose hair from her face and began. "The club was great. We danced. And not like friendly dancing either, Derek. She was all over me and I was all over her."

Another sip.

"And before that, we kissed. You know at twelve. I mean, we sucked face with everyone, but our kiss was different. I thought maybe that I had been imagining things but then when we were dancing..." Her voice trailed off as she looked aimlessly into space, trying to recall the moment and the feelings that she had that night.

"When you were dancing?" Derek spoke up, breaking the blonde's attention from her inner thoughts.

"...We had a moment."

"A moment?"

Arizona fiddled with her glass before looking back up to Derek. "I'm pretty sure that Callie knows how I feel about her. She had this look of, I don't know, revelation maybe? Like she all of a sudden figured out how I felt."

"Well, what happened after that?"

Arizona shrugged. "We all drank more and then went back to the house. I was so drunk, Derek. All of us were. Towards the end of the night, I had mustered up enough courage to go talk to her and tell her everything." She hung her head down.

"I'm taking that it didn't go well?"

The blonde brought her eyes back to the ones in front of her. "I never got the chance to. When I went to find her in her room at the end of the night, I saw her and Mark having sex." Arizona quickly wiped fresh tears from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Arizona." Derek managed softly.

"Yeah, I am too." She smiled sarcastically and huffed to herself. "But I appreciate everything you did for me that night so that I could go out. I don't think I ever thanked you. Sorry for that."

"No worries, Robbins. You deserved it." As he was pouring them another round, he looked up to his friend. "And I'm sorry things ended up the way they did. You'll get your chance, Arizona. You are amazing and beautiful and smart and everything that anyone would ever want. I hope you know that."

She shrugged but nodded. "Maybe."

They tidied up the small mess they had made on the bar, grabbed their jackets and one last beer to cap off the night. Arizona looked out of the window for some solace or some kind of understanding when she notice Callie's silohette in the apartment across the street. The Latina was bouncing around in the kitchen, probably making some sort of food that Arizona would love, knowing the blonde would be coming home soon from work.

She chugged the beer she had been holding to replace the butterflies in her stomach at the sight. "Derek, could I maybe crash at your pad tonight?"

He took both of their empty beer bottles and tossed them in the trash can by the front door. "Of course. Meredith is in bed, the couch okay?"

Arizona glanced over him to the lights on across the street. "It's perfect."

The two locked the door to the bar behind them and turned left for the ten-minute walk to Derek's place. The prescence of Arizona's apartment behind them burned holes into the blonde's heart the entire way.

It was March. Cold, windy, bitter. Callie had just stopped at the small cafe' across from the hospital to grab her usual morning cup of coffee. She huddled into her jacket and scarf as she walked the half-block, taking generous gulps of her drink along the way. The now-familiar front doors of Seattle Grace welcomed her kindly when she slid through.

She waved as she passed the gift shop, run by a woman she had known by the name of Hannah, an older woman in her sixties, who smiled back as she was hustling to ready the store for opening. And then there was the regular Monday thru Friday front desk receptionist named Carl, who always greeted the brunette with a kind nod of his head when she brushed past him every morning.

Callie had never worked long enough anywhere to get to know a familiar face. But one of the things she looked the most forward to when going to work were the people she had met, and liked, since being at the hospital. It had become a morning routine, saying hello to the field of faces that she didn't work with directly. All of them kind, all of them with a story of their own.

She had rounded the last hall to the left before her elevator and stopped at the coffee cart to pick up another pick me up. Callie glanced at her watch. 7:34 a.m. The Latina still hadn't gotten used to being such the morning person and it showed in her eyes every day. But this is why she loved Kim, the regular barista who slipped an extra shot of espresso into her cup every time she ordered. And it was no different this morning.

"$2.90. Anything else?"

Callie handed her a five and smiled. "Keep it, thanks."

"You're welcome. See you tomorrow, Dr. Torres."

The traffic in the hospital was busy, just as it was every morning around this time. Callie, with her fresh coffee in hand, decided to trek through the hectic halls to the south side of the building to the service elevators there.

She sipped her cup as she waited, rolling back and forth on the balls of her feet while watching the numbers above the silver door in front of her descend slowly. When the bell finally dinged, she noticed a familiar face exiting the elevator, pushing an empty stretcher from behind.

"Torres!"

Callie adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder as she smiled with a blush. "Hey Mark. How ya been?"

"Good, good. Busy as hell. You know."

The redness in the Latina's cheeks wasn't from being shy or lovesick for the man in front of her. In all honesty, Callie was embarrassed as the last time she had laid eyes on Mark's face was the night they had rolled around in the hay, drunkenly, in January. It had been fun, of course, but right now, it was just a little awkward. "That I do. Residency is kicking my ass."

"Well it was good seeing you, Callie. Hey, if you're free tonight, maybe we could grab a drink or two?"

The brunette thought about it for a moment and didn't the harm in it much. "Sure, Mark. Sounds like fun."

"Awesome. Maybe Joe's, say, eight-ish?"

She contemplated the choice of venue, but she hadn't seen much of her roommate lately and thought it would be an easy way to kill two birds with one stone. Though, she didn't consider seeing Arizona as a task or inconvenience, she just desperately missed the woman.

"I'll be there." Callie smiled a toothy grin and pushed past Mark and into the elevator that someone had been holding for her. She slid into the front and as the door closed, she stuck her fist out to prevent it from shutting, much to the annoyance of the other travelers in the lift. Callie snaked her head out to the right. "Hey Mark!"

The handsome man turned around and questioned with his eyes.

"Just as friends, okay?"

He smiled and nodded a sincere confirmation.

When the doors shut just inches above her face, Callie placed an aimless stare onto the metal surface in front of her. She wondered to herself why she felt need to draw the line for Mark in advising them their outing later would be strictly platonic.

When the doors opened on the second floor, she was thinking that she was just being shy and silly. Mark was handsome, together, driven, and pretty good in bed. He was definitely a decent catch in the dating pool. By floor number three, the Latina was chalking her decision up to being just too busy to have the time to date anyone, let alone someone else in the medical field. Her thoughts went wild for the two-minute trip to her destination. The sixth floor. And by the time she arrived, she had come to the conclusion that her impromptu disclosure to Mark had everything to do with the fact that the thought of dating, or even hooking up with him, just didn't feel right.

Callie was prompt, arriving at Joe's right before eight p.m. She immediately saw Mark and a couple of his friends surrounding a tall, round table in the front corner of the bar. She approached the table with a smile, quickly introducing herself to the other occupants of the table.

Arizona noticed the brunette immediately. For a moment, a split moment, she thought that Callie was there to see her. To say hi, to wonder how she had been doing. That thought was quickly stomped down when she saw the Latina's destination. A table in the front that was occupied by none other than the person, though not fair, that she despised most in life right now. Mark Sloane.

"Derek, I'm going to the back. Joe will be up in a few."

He didn't question his co-worker, for he had seen all he needed to understand her actions.

"Got ya a drink, Torres." Mark said after she had circled around and took a stool next to him. "Didn't know if you had to work tomorrow, so I went with a safe choice. Lite beer."

Callie appreciated the gesture, and even the thought that came along with it. She wondered, momentarily, if perhaps her being so quick to want Mark in her life as only a friend had been something that she would regret one day. She wasn't taking pity on the man as he didn't need it. He was successful, smart, sexy, and together. With all of those attributes, he could be with anyone he wanted. Just not her.

Midway though a decent joke that Mark's friend Carl had been telling, Callie realized, for the second time today, that she had made a choice earlier when she told Mark that she only wanted to hang out with him as friends. And any time you make a choice, it means that there was really nothing there to begin with. Well, maybe some hot, drunken sex. But that's it.

The table broke out in a small rumble of laughter after Carl had hit his punchline. Callie stood up from her stool, pressing her skirt down with her hands after doing so. "I'm getting another beer, can I get you guys a round?"

Mark and his friends only had a few moments to give her an apprehensive look before she spoke up. "I don't work tomorrow, you guys can get the next, okay?"

"Sounds good." Mark answered with a smile.

Callie turned from the group to make her way to the bar. If she were honest with herself, she would admit that one of the reasons she accepted the invitation to Mark's outing tonight was that she would, for the first time in weeks, she would perhaps be able to see Arizona. It was a Thursday night and she knew her best friend would be tending bar.

Callie scooted herself between two people that she recognized from her days of studying here to be regulars, friendly and always tipsy. The Latina waited a few minutes before Derek's attention finally rested on her. "Hey Torres, what'll it be?"

"Five Miller Lites, draft if you have it."

"No problem, gimme two. It's slammed in here."

A few minutes later, Derek was settling five pints on the wooden bar in front of Callie. She slipped her debit card to Derek. "Hey, is Arizona working tonight?"

Derek took a moment to re-notice Callie's friends in the front corner before replying. "She's in the back." Derek wanted to honestly speak his mind to Callie and tell her everything that she didn't know. He wanted to be crass, but truthful. He wanted to tell the woman in front of her everything that Arizona wouldn't and everything that callie didn't know. Still, he knew his friend and he knew that Arizona would not want him to divulge anything to Callie, not even a mean inflection that would cause the Latina to question his demeanor. "Joe is sick, so she is picking up his slack in the kitchen. Gotta feed the drunkies." He said with a crooked smirk before moving on to the next patron.

One round turned into two, which turned into several. And then they lost count. Callie and Mark, along with his friends, closed the bar, managing to rack up a hundred dollars or so worth of beer between them all. After paying their separate tabs, the group parted ways after exiting the front door with plans to meet up again in the near future.

Callie crossed the street carefully, minding the cars in street along her short trek to she and Arizona's flat across the street. She had seen the blonde slip out of the back just minutes earlier while she had been paying her tab so she knew her roomie was home. It had been weeks she had seen her best friend and their communication through texts just weren't enough for Callie anymore. She missed Arizona.

After shutting the apartment door softly behind her, Callie tossed her keys and jacket on the floor. She shuffled out of her shoes on the way to her bedroom, shifting her eyes around the apartment for Arizona along the way. In her room, while changing into pajama pants and a tee, her ears caught the faint sound of the shower running from the bathroom that connected her bedroom with Arizona's. The brunette smiled softly at the thought of knowing not only that the blonde was home, but that she would finally get to see her after what had seemed like forever.

Knowing that Arizona was probably dead-tired and only wanting to sleep, Callie exited her bedroom and stumbled the short trek down the hallway to Arizona's door. The water had cut off minutes ago and once she knew the blonde was out, she knocked on the sighlty-ajar door that turned into room with her contact.

"Hey," Callie muttered, catching Arizona off-guard as she was fumbling through the top drawer of her dresser, looking for something to replace the towel she was wrapped in.

"Oh my God, Callie," The blonde clutched her towel tight. "You scared the shit out of me."

The Latina giggled softly as she made her way into the room. "Sorry, I uh, I knew you were home, so I wanted to come say hi."

Arizona smiled. "Come on in," she said before returning her attention to garment hunting in search of sleepwear. Once satisfied with her picks, she disappeared into the bathroom to change. Less than a minute later, she returned, flicking off the light to the bathroom and shutting the door along the way.

Callie, who had been sitting on the bed, jumped up and enveloped the blonde in to a hug. "I miss you."

Arizona hugged her friend as tightly as she could. With everything else going on in her mind, she couldn't deny a simple hug from her best friend. She also couldn't find the will to say anything to her in return.

Callie pulled away from the embrace. "I was at the bar tonight, didn't see you but Derek said you were in the back."

"Yeah, Joe wasn't there tonight, so I had to cover for him in the back." Arizona lied. As much as she hated to do it, she couldn't tell Callie the truth. After all this time, she couldn't tell the brunette that she had seen her her tonight with Mark, that she got jealous and angry and had made an excuse not to have to deal with it. That she loved her.

"You've been working a lot lately."

"I have, it's been crazy there and Joe needs me." More lies. It's no more busy than it has ever been and Joe needs her only just as much as he ever did. But Arizona couldn't tell the brunette that she had been avoiding her to try to mend her own heart. To move on, to get over it.

Callie sat down on the bed and tipsily tossed off her slippers. She scooted herself, slowly but surely, up to the spare pillow that Arizona kept on her bed for decoration but never used. "Come snuggle." She said with sleepy eyes.

Arizona fought with her own mind, for the better part of two minutes, as to whether or not she should accept the cuddle session. The blonde struggled between her inner thoughts telling her that it was a bad idea and her heart that was calling for it. In the end, Arizona smiled weakly, though Callie could not see it, and climbed into her bed. She settled into the brunette's arms that wrapped her tightly, and almost protectively, from behind.

And like so many time before in the history of their friendship, Arizona fell asleep in the arms of her best friend. Only this time, her eyes were wet and her heart was breaking into pieces as she drifted off into a slumber that she could only ever find when around Callie.


	10. Chapter 10

Hey guys! I'm super, super sorry that this is not an update, bit it IS a very productive post, I promise.

I am really sorry, because I know when I get alerts that my favorite docs have been updated, I squeal. But then I get sad when it's not an actual update and I truly am sorry. That this is one of those occasions. Please know that.

Have no fear, though - I've been working diligently over the past few months on this story. One of the reasons that I have yet to post an update - other than being super busy with the randomness of life - is that I was without the proper songs that I needed for it.

Those of you that follow my writing know what I am talking about. I use music to set a scene and I absolute cannot write without good shit. I needed the perfect songs for the latter part of this fic and I eventually found them. I have the story almost done as of now and I will be posting a new chapter by Tuesday.

However, I need something from you. I need you all to promise me that you will listen to these songs coming up in the story while you are reading it. It is almost imperative to truly get any of the story from this point on.

I apologize in advance for being so demanding. :)

I will also say that there are six, maybe seven, chapters left - unless you can make a really good argument otherwise.

Lastly, I will post the new chapter in Tuesday and replace this post with it after a week or so. Thank you again for the kind feedback.


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